Home / Crime and Justice / ACB Books Former HMDA Director for Corruption
ACB Books Former HMDA Director for Corruption
22 Feb
Summary
- Former HMDA director faces criminal case for land plan manipulation.
- Allegations involve altering road master plan to benefit private parties.
- A landowner's building permit was reportedly delayed due to the scheme.
Former Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) director Shiva Balakrishna is under investigation by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) for alleged criminal misconduct. An FIR was registered on February 7, 2026, following state government permission granted on January 7, 2026. The case alleges that Balakrishna manipulated a road master plan in Gachibowli to benefit private parties, causing loss to an individual landowner.
The investigation centers on events beginning in September 2022, when GO Ms 170 realigned a proposed 100-ft road in Telecom Nagar, Gachibowli. A landowner, G Neelima, complained to the ACB in February 2024 that this realignment was engineered to benefit private parties owning land behind her property. Neelima’s writ petition led to the Telangana high court suspending the GO in December 2022.
Further allegations suggest that while neighboring plot owners obtained building permissions and neared completion of construction, Neelima’s own application to HMDA remained pending since January 21, 2023. An inquiry by DSP D Kamalakar Reddy concluded that "violations and suspicion" surrounded the issuance of GO Ms 170, prompting the ACB DG to seek mandatory sanction from the state government.
Investigators will now examine whether Balakrishna and other officials abused their positions to alter the road alignment and unduly delay Neelima’s building permit. This follows Balakrishna’s previous arrest by ACB in January 2026 for a Disproportionate Assets case.
