Remove encroachments at Kothacheruvu lake: HC tells GHMC, HMDA and govt

 Hyderabad: The Telangana High Court directed GHMC, HMDA, revenue, and irrigation departments to immediately start removing the alleged encroachments in Sikham land or tank bed land at Kothacheruvu lake of Khajaguda village in Serilingampally mandal of Ranga Reddy district.

The court directed the authorities to issue notices to all the concerned persons and if any encroachments are found in the said land, they should initiate action aimed at protecting the water body, without any hesitation or delay.

Justice C.V. Bhaskar Reddy also stated that the orders of the Supreme Court restraining demolitions of buildings by authorities in WP Civil 295/2022 was not applicable to the cases related to encroachments of water bodies. In the said petition, the apex court said that no demolition in the country can be done without the court’s nod.

Justice Bhaskar Reddy pointed that in the same case, the Supreme Court had also clearly mentioned that the said order was not applicable if there is an unauthorised structure in any public place such as a road, street, footpath, abutting railway line or any river body or water bodies and cases where there is a demolition order by a court.

The judge was dealing with a petition filed by R. Ramakrishna and five others complaining that agencies like HYDRAA and GHMC and other concerned departments are not responding to their complaints regarding encroachment of five acres of FTL land of Kothacheruvu in survey number 5 of Khajaguda village. Moreover, they also brought to the notice of the court that GHMC and HMDA had issued building permission to Sohini Builders LLP, Beverly Hills Owners Welfare Society and three others for constructing high-rise residential and commercial buildings. They alleged that the encroachers had misused the reports of survey number 27/2 of Khajaguda village to survey number 5 and maps of the village and lakes were not tallying with the village map. There is every possibility of water problems.

Considering the arguments, the court asked the private parties to submit their land and approval details and directed authorities to protect Kothacheruvu lake.