Construction Boom Puts Older Buildings at Risk as Cracks Surface in Madhapur
HYDERABAD: Cracks reported in a residential building in Siddiq Nagar near Madhapur have renewed concern over the impact of intensive, closely packed construction on existing homes in Hyderabad, where deep excavation, inadequate setbacks and unauthorized multi-storey development have repeatedly triggered structural-safety scares.
Residents of the affected Siddiq Nagar property say cracks have appeared over the past six months and blame construction of a six-storey building on the adjoining plot. They allege that the new structure was raised without maintaining the required setback and fear that continued construction could further affect their building. Civic officials have inspected the site after residents raised complaints and have assured them that appropriate action will be considered.
The residents’ allegation about what caused the cracks has not yet been established by an independent structural assessment. That distinction is important: cracks in an older building can have several causes, and determining whether neighboring excavation, vibration, loss of soil support, the condition of the existing structure or a combination of factors is responsible requires an engineering examination.
But Siddiq Nagar has seen a strikingly similar incident before.
Same neighborhood saw building tilt after excavation
In November 2024, a multi-storey residential building in Siddiq Nagar tilted after excavation began on an adjacent plot for a cellar. More than 50 occupants were evacuated and the damaged structure was subsequently demolished because of the danger it posed.
Madhapur police later registered a case against the person responsible for the adjoining excavation. Police Inspector D. Krishna Mohan said at the time that the construction had begun without permission and that “unscientific” excavation had endangered the neighboring building.
That incident illustrated a problem that can be particularly serious in Hyderabad’s densely developed neighborhoods: a building does not have to be newly constructed to be placed at risk. Excavating immediately alongside an existing foundation can alter the support provided by surrounding soil. The danger becomes greater where plots are small, buildings are close together and cellar excavation or additional floors are undertaken without adequate engineering safeguards.
Goshamahal suffered similar damage
Another comparable episode occurred in Chaknawadi, Goshamahal, in November 2025. A five-storey building developed extensive cracks during deep excavation for a neighboring project.
Residents there also alleged that the cellar excavation was carried out without adequate setbacks. Police evacuated occupants, authorities stopped the adjoining work and GHMC said a structural-stability assessment would be conducted.
Such cases underscore why setbacks are more than empty space mandated on a building plan. Along with proper retaining systems and engineered excavation, they can help protect neighboring foundations, provide access and reduce risks when development takes place beside an existing structure.
Recent Gachibowli collapse sharpened concerns
The latest Siddiquinagar complaints also come less than two weeks after a far more serious construction failure in the same broad IT-corridor region.
On August 22, an unauthorized seven-storey building under construction at Anjaiah Nagar in the Gachibowli-Madhapur area collapsed, killing two workers and injuring others. Municipal authorities said the building did not have approval and was being built on a very small plot associated with a nala.
Debris from that collapse also struck an adjacent residential structure, injuring an occupant — another example of how unsafe construction can endanger people who have no connection with the project itself.
The incident prompted the Cyberabad Municipal Corporation to intensify enforcement. Officials identified 38 unauthorized buildings in an initial drive, issued notices to 28, seized one and demolished nine. A subsequent operation demolished 17 unauthorized structures across Serilingampally, Kukatpally and Quthbullapur zones.
Older buildings face a different kind of vulnerability
Hyderabad’s rapid redevelopment creates a particular challenge for houses and small apartment buildings erected years or decades before their neighborhoods became high-density real-estate markets.
An older structure may have remained stable for years under the conditions in which it was built. Construction next door can change those conditions through deep digging, movement of earth, vibrations from machinery or inadequate support of excavation walls. That does not mean every crack in an older building is caused by neighboring work, but it makes prompt structural evaluation important when new cracks appear during adjoining construction.
Age itself can also matter. Older structures can have deterioration, water intrusion, corrosion or earlier construction deficiencies of their own. A professional structural investigation therefore has to assess both the existing building and the activities on the neighboring site before responsibility can be determined.
GHMC itself has ordered checks on excavation sites
The risk is sufficiently serious that GHMC included ongoing cellar excavation sites in its 2026 monsoon safety program.
In June, the corporation ordered officials to survey unsafe buildings, compound walls and excavation sites across the city. For active excavations, officials were directed to check approvals and examine their impact on adjoining structures. Developers were required to provide measures including retaining walls, soil strengthening and barricading where necessary.
GHMC also suspended permission for new cellar excavation during the monsoon period and warned that violations could lead to stoppage of construction, cancellation of permissions or licenses and criminal action.
The corporation’s building-permission framework separately makes structural safety a responsibility of owners, builders, developers, architects and structural engineers and requires construction to conform to sanctioned plans and applicable setback provisions.
Cracks in beams and columns demand more than a visual inspection
Residents in the current Siddiquinagar case say cracks are visible on important structural elements, including beams and pillars. Their request for a detailed structural inspection is therefore more consequential than seeking cosmetic repairs.
A proper assessment would need to determine whether the cracks are superficial or indicate movement or distress in load-bearing components, and whether construction on the neighboring site should continue while that assessment is underway.
For residents, the larger concern is not simply whether their own building is old. It is whether Hyderabad’s redevelopment is taking place with adequate safeguards for structures that were already there.
The Siddiquinagar complaint, the 2024 building tilt in the same locality, the Goshamahal evacuation and the recent deadly Anjaiah Nagar collapse point to a recurring civic challenge: new construction can create risks far beyond the boundaries of the plot on which it is taking place when permissions, setbacks and engineering safeguards are ignored or poorly enforced.
As Hyderabad continues to replace low-rise neighborhoods with apartments, hostels and commercial buildings, protecting the city’s existing housing stock will depend as much on the quality and regulation of what is being built next door as on the age of the older buildings themselves.
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