HYDRAA defends Khajaguda demolition, refutes misinformation
Hyderabad: A day after the Telangana High Court pulled up Hyderabad Disaster Response and Asset Protection Agency (HYDRAA) for their Khajaguda demolition drive, HYDRAA clarified that the demolition drive taken up in the vicinity of Thoutoni Kunta and Bhagerathamma Cheruvu was due to local complaints about frequent water logging from unchecked encroachments.
It is pertinent to be noted that demolition was carried out on December 31, 2024, targeting unauthorized structures encroaching Thoutoni Kunta and Bhagerathamma Cheruvu in Khajaguda area.
Before the demolition, HYDRAA officials reportedly conducted two site visits and held a crucial meeting with stakeholders, including commercial shop owners, real estate developers, and Shikham Pattedars, on December 28 at Buddha Bhavan. During this recorded meeting, officials used Google Earth to demonstrate the extent of encroachments into the water bodies’ Full Tank Level (FTL) and buffer zones.
“A real estate developer named ACE Corp Group has recently taken this encroached land about 7 acres on Development from the Shikham Pattedars (Mekala Anjaiah and others). After HYDRAA’s demolition, ACE Corp moved a lunch motion in the High Court of Telangana in the name of Encroachers/ Shikham Pattedars Mekala Anjaiah and others. The owners of ACE Corp group also attended, along with others, the meeting at HYDRAA office on 28, December, 2024,”said a statement released by HYDRAA.
Further, A V Ranganath, HYDRAA commissioner, added that the Shikham Pattedars of Khajaguda Cheruvu were running shops in the Buffer Zone and filling the Cheruvu with construction debris as part of encroachment into the Bhageerathamma lake.
HYDRAA clears encroachments in Khajaguda to prevent water logging, says Commissioner
The investigation revealed a systematic pattern of encroachment. In November 2024, HYDRAA teams caught tippers dumping construction material into Bhagerathamma lake at night. Subsequently, a criminal case was booked on Sandhya Constructions, its owner Sandhya Sridhar Rao, tipper operators etc at the Raidurgam Police Station, Cyberabad in November 2024 for encroaching the Bhageerathamma Cheruvu.
According to the statement from HYDRAA, the agency had held meetings with all of them last week. It warned that encroachments would be demolished after 3-4 days and told them to vacate the FTL/Buffer Zone. Despite receiving advance warnings and a 24-hour vacation notice on December 30, the occupants failed to leave. The demolition proceeded under Section 405 of the GHMC Act, which doesn’t require notices for structures in water bodies, and aligned with a recent Supreme Court judgment on ‘Bulldozer Justice’ from November 2024.
“The Unauthorized/Without Permission Structures in FTL/ Buffer Zone of Bhageerathamma Cheruvu and Thoutoni Kunta were demolished after following due process. Even though no notices need to be issued in respect of Encroachments in water bodies as per law, but HYDRAA issued vacation notice on humanitarian grounds, said A V Ranganath.
Some unscrupulous land encroachers are spreading misinformation against HYDRAA on social media. In response to social media criticism, HYDRAA officials stated their commitment to following legal procedures while protecting water bodies, parks, government lands, and open spaces throughout 2025, added Ranganath.
HYDRAA has highest respect for the law of the land, judiciary and Courts, and will scrupulously follow the Law, process in both ‘Letter and Spirit’ while removing encroachments in the year 2025 and strive for protection of Waterbodies, Parks, Government lands, Open Spaces and others, reiterated A V Ranganath.
𝐇𝐘𝐃𝐑𝐀𝐀 𝐝𝐞𝐟𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐊𝐡𝐚𝐣𝐚𝐠𝐮𝐝𝐚 𝐝𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧
Hyderabad Disaster Response and Asset Protection Agency (HYDRAA) on Wednesday issued a clarification on their Khajaguda demolition drive. The clarification comes after the Telangana High Court questioned the… pic.twitter.com/Z9YYTzB2kw
— Hyderabad Mail (@Hyderabad_Mail) January 1, 2025
