Telangana HC Raps HYDRAA Commissioner for Unilateral Demolition Orders

Hyderabad:The Telangana High Court on Tuesday criticised the attitude of HYDRAA commissioner A.V. Ranganath and other staff for their “slanted decisions” in the demolition of structures and constructions.

The court observed that it seemed the HYDRAA commissioner was reluctant to follow rules and court orders, and had unilaterally issued demolition notices without following procedure.

“Earlier, he appeared before the court for violation of procedure in demolitions. But, the same mistakes are happening. If this continues, the court has to take its own steps,” Justice K. Lakshman said and directed the agency’s counsel Katika Ravinder Reddy to inform the commissioner.

Justice Lakshman was dealing with two lunch motion petitions filed by Mekala Anjaiah and two others, whose houses were set to be demolished on Tuesday by HYDRAA on the ground that their fencing and sheds were built on the full tank level and buffer zone of Bhagirathamma lake at Khajaguda.

HYDRAA officials had issued them notices on December 30, directing them to vacate the premises within 24 hours.

During the hearing, Justice Lakshman questioned the commissioner on how HYDRAA had fixed a time period of 24 hours, how the agency had concluded that the petitioner's land fell in FTL or buffer zone of the lake and asked for the final notification of the FTL.

The court inquired about the evidence to prove that the structures were in the FTL. The judge asked whether or not the commissioner was aware of the procedure of issuing notice and giving an opportunity to the other side to submit their contentions and produce documents in support.

Cautioning HYDRAA to strictly adhere to procedure, the court set aside the notices and directed the agency to follow due procedure.