Parents urge HYDRAA Commissioner to postpone school demolitions amid academic year
Hyderabad: As the Hyderabad Disaster Response and Assets Monitoring and Protection Agency (HYDRAA) continues to demolish encroachments on lakes, it is facing pressure from parents to exempt schools and colleges from this action. There are educational institutions on HYDRAA’s demolition list accused of encroaching upon lake lands. The request for exemption is driven by concerns over the ongoing academic year, as parents urge that the demolitions be postponed to avoid disrupting their children’s education.
Several prominent educational institutions, including those associated with political figures, are accused of unlawfully constructing buildings on lake land. The institutions reportedly slated for demolition include Fatima Owaisi College, managed by the Salar-e-Millat Educational Trust led by AIMIM floor leader Akbaruddin Owaisi, Anurag Educational Institutions, owned by BRS MLA Palla Rajeshwar Reddy, and the Malla Reddy Group of Institutions, operated by the family of former minister and BRS MLA Ch Malla Reddy. These institutions have been identified for allegedly encroaching on lake lands.
The Commissioner of HYDRAA, AV Ranganath, has confirmed that many parents have approached him, requesting a delay in the demolition until the academic year ends. He said, “Parents are coming in groups, asking me to exempt these institutions as they are worried about their children’s education.”
Although no decision has been made yet, Commissioner Ranganath mentioned that a policy decision will be made at the government level in the coming days.
Malla Reddy institutions are being examined for blocking water flow from Chinna Bandam Cheruvu, Lingam Cheruvu, and Bhajanshai Kunta. Satellite images show that the encroachments started before 2010 with the construction of Malla Reddy Dental College for Women and were followed by the construction of other institutions on the encroached channels.
It was previously reported that satellite images from 2014, 2017, and 2024, provided by Team Climate Congress and social activist Lubna Sarwath, reveal the extent of encroachments. “Salar-e-Millat Trust constructed the buildings in Salkam Cheruvu in Chandrayangutta,” Sarwath said strongly.
An FIR was filed against Anurag Educational Institutions on August 23, 2024. The institution was accused of encroaching on Nadam Cheruvu in Venkatapur village, Ghatkesar Mandal, Medchal-Malkajgiri district. The complaint leading to the case was made by A. Paramesh, Assistant Executive Engineer of the Irrigation Section in Ghatkesar Mandal. The institution was alleged to have illegally constructed buildings within the buffer zone of the lake.
