Activist accuses HYDRAA of destroying heritage water bodies near Mir Alam Tank
HYDERABAD: Social activist and advocate Dr Lubna Sarwath has accused the Hyderabad Disaster Response and Assets Protection Agency (HYDRAA) of destroying two historic water bodies Bum Rukn Ud Dowla talab and Neher Hussaini bowli near Mir Alam Tank, even as the agency claims to be restoring them.
In a public note issued as a follow-up to her open appeal dated December 11, 2025, to the Telangana chief minister, Sarwath alleged that HYDRA demolished heritage structures and altered the hydrology of the water bodies at Shivram Pally, opposite the National Police Academy, while projecting the work as “beautification” and “restoration”.
Allegations of heritage damage and court violations
Sarwath alleged that HYDRAA violated Supreme Court directions on protecting water bodies and made “false statements” before the National Green Tribunal, where a case relating to the lake has been pending since 2018. She claimed the agency undertook further concretisation and incursions into the lake area despite the matter being sub judice.
She also questioned HYDRAA’s engagement of non-local consultants from Bengaluru and the alleged expenditure of public funds, adding that Right to Information appeals seeking details remain unanswered.
Call for expert consultation and transparency
The activist said authorities ignored available local expertise on Hyderabad’s historic water network, including scholars familiar with Munn Maps, and instead sought to involve descendants of Nawab Rukn Ud Dowla for “legitimacy” after the alleged damage was done.
Citing a recent speech by Rahul Gandhi in Berlin on environmental vision, Sarwath urged HYDRAA to adopt ethical and scientific approaches to conservation and to respond to video evidence she released, which she said contained geo-spatial proof of the destruction.
Long-standing campaign by lake activists
Sarwath said city activists have been campaigning to protect the lake since before 2014 and approached the green tribunal in 2018, well before HYDRAA was constituted. She argued that such activists and heritage experts should be formally consulted by planning authorities for lake protection.
HYDRAA has not publicly responded to the allegations at the time of publication.
