Banjara Hills police book city resident for GHMC park encroachment
HYDERABAD: The Banjara Hills police have filed a criminal case against Narne Gokul, a resident of Lotus Pond in Banjara Hills, for encroaching into the Lotus Pond park, felling trees, dumping gravel, and occupying land by demolishing the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) compound wall.
On June 27, 2024, the Banjara Hills police station received a complaint regarding trespassing, damaging the GHMC park compound wall (public property), and felling trees in the park located on Road No. 11, Film Nagar Co-operative Housing Society, adjacent to Lotus Pond.
Following an investigation by officers from the Directorate of EV&DM, GHMC, it was confirmed that the owner of adjacent Plot No. 30, Sri Gokul Narne, son of Col. Ranga Rao Narne (Rtd), and M/s Market Space Systems Pvt Ltd, had illegally trespassed into the public park. They demolished the existing GHMC park compound wall and encroached upon park space by illegally filling it with excavated soil, thereby damaging the park’s ecology. Additionally, they allegedly illegally felled large trees and dense vegetation.
Gokul Narne not only trespassed into the park and damaged the compound wall (public property) but also violated the Water, Land, and Trees (WALTA) Act by felling trees and filling the area with excavated soil.
It was also noted that due to a significant difference in terrain height of about 60 feet, the existing compound wall is at risk of collapse, which could lead to unforeseen incidents. As a precautionary measure, in view of the monsoon season, the Directorate of EV&DM has decided to demolish the compound wall constructed on the southern side of the park premises, said A.V. Ranganath, Commissioner EV&DM.