Telangana HC Asks State to Clarify Musi Riverfront Demolition Plans

Hyderabad: The Telangana High Court on Monday asked the state government whether it had formulated a policy for the removal of alleged encroachments in the Musi riverfront area. The court asked the authorities how they could serve notices or mark houses as being in the full tank level (FTL), when the dwellers had built the houses outside of the FTL which was fixed in the 1990s.

Justice K. Lakshman of the High Court was dealing with a batch of lunch motion petitions which were filed by residents living in the Musi catchment or riverfront area, challenging the notices served upon them and apprehending demolition of their houses by the HYDRAA, revenue and municipal authorities.

Tera Rajanikanth Reddy, additional advocate-general (AAG), representing the state government, said that the government was not taking any immediate steps regarding demolitions or evictions. He also submitted that a high-level committee was constituted and it would hold discussions with the residents whose houses were reportedly marked as encroachments.

Rajanikanth Reddy also submitted that around 2,100 families had been identified and they will be provided 2BHK houses or other alternatives.

The court directed the AAG to instruct the authorities to follow the due procedure and to direct the municipal authorities to follow the basic measure of fixing the FTL of lakes and issue final notification expeditiously.

Recording that contention that no immediate steps were being taken at the Musi Riverfront area, the court directed the government to follow due procedure in removing alleged encroachments and consider the objections of the dwellers.