Telangana: HYDRA Warns Against Encroachments of Lake Land

Hyderabad: Encroachers should now be fearful of constructing illegal buildings or developing layouts in Full Tank Level (FTL) or buffer zones of lakes, or any other government-owned assets, warned A.V. Ranganath, the commissioner of the newly-created Hyderabad Disaster Relief and Asset Protection Agency (HYDRA).

Unveiling HYDRA's future course of action, the officer said that the state government has decided to deal with land grabbers by establishing exclusive police stations within its jurisdiction.

Initially, three police stations, each staffed with an ACP-rank officer, inspectors, and the necessary police personnel, will be set up. HYDRA will likely be divided into three zones, with plans to employ around 3,500 staff and expand its jurisdiction from 2,000 square kilometres to 2,500 square kilometres.

HYDRA has also decided to make the Full Tank Level (FTL) and buffer zones of all lakes public and will undertake the protection of these assets in three stages. In the first stage, HYDRA plans to demolish all under-construction structures within the FTL and buffer zones of lakes and water bodies.

"We cannot allow further encroachment; it must be stopped at any cost. This is the primary reason for HYDRA's formation by Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy," said Ranganath. He said that enforcement actions will not be taken lightly; instead, any illegal structures under construction will be demolished without hesitation.

In the second stage, HYDRA will take action against already occupied illegal structures by serving notices and initiating legal proceedings. The third stage will focus on the revival of lakes and water bodies.

"When a lake overflows, the water needs to flow into another water body through nalas and other channels, but even these connecting structures have been encroached upon," Ranganath explained.

As part of the asset protection process, the state government has also decided to file criminal cases against government officials who approved building permits and layout permissions in the FTL and buffer zones of lakes, in addition to taking action against the builders.

Recently, under-construction lake view villas were demolished in the buffer zone of Erla Cheruvu in the Chandanagar Circle. Surprisingly, these villas had both building permissions and No Objection Certificates (NOCs), which are usually granted when construction is completed. All these approvals were issued by the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC).

Currently, according to HYDRA data, an average of 100 complaints related to encroachments are being received daily. "There are 185 lakes within GHMC limits and 400 lakes within Outer Ring Road (ORR) limits. According to the National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC), some lakes have been encroached 60 per cent, while others have been occupied up to 80 per cent," he said.