Beneath the rubble: Uncovering Dundigal’s ‘Lady Don’ behind HYDRAA’s demolition
Nizampet: Gurram Vijay Lakshmi, who was referred to as a ‘lady don’ attributing it to locals in an official statement from the HYDRAA (Hyderabad Disaster Response and Asset Monitoring and Protection Agency) has a long tale of legal battles. Hyderabad Mail has delved deep into the controversies around the disputed land and her construction firm.
On Sunday, Vijay Lakshmi’s empire of alleged illegal construction took a tumultuous turn after HYDRAA’s crackdown. Her firm, M/s Srinivasa Laxmi Constructions allegedly built villas in violation of regulations and encroaching on protected lake areas, have faced the ultimate fate- demolition.
Her legal troubles started in September 2021 when the Town Planning wing of Dundigal municipality sealed over 100 villas which were being constructed by M/s Srinivasa Laxmi Constructions for not obtaining requisite permissions to construct the villas. Further the officials also found that the developer of these villas allegedly encroached the prohibited Full Tank Level and buffer zone of Katwa Cheruvu in Mallampet. Subsequently, they were served notices and were warned to demolish.
Meanwhile G Kasturi Bai, one of the partners of the construction firm, knocked the Telangana High Court doors urging to declare the action of Municipality as illegal and subsequently brought a stay.
As the matter stood, the Municipal commissioner of Dundigal approached Dundigal Police Station and lodged a formal complaint against M/s Srinivasa Laxmi Constructions represented by Gurram Vijaya Lakshmi alleging that the construction firm undertook unauthorized construction of around 260 buildings in the subject property and obtained false building permissions by misrepresenting facts to the erstwhile Gram Panchayat. Later on, Vijaya Lakshmi approached the high court to quash the FIR. The court directed the investigation officials not to arrest Vijaya Lakshmi but ordered to continue the investigation in 2022.
What was at the heart of the conflict?
The issue is about the houses constructed in Sy. No. 170/3, 170/4 and 170/5 situated at Mallampet village in Dundigal municipality.
According to the construction firm 15 acres of land fall in survey No.170 out of which, 5 acres is falling in survey No.170/4. From out of the said land, an extent of 1.11 acres of land comes under the buffer zone of Katwa Cheruvu.
However, according to the Revenue, Irrigation and Municipal Authorities preliminary joint inspection report about eight villas constructed by the firm are coming under the buffer area of Katwa Cheruvu. Subsequently they issued notice to demolish the unauthorized constructions.
Firm failed to complete construction in stipulated time
According to the firm, they obtained permission certificates in July 2018 from the then Gram Panchayat, Mallampet, for construction of villas. As per the said permission certificate, the firm had to complete the construction within two years and the said period has expired by July 2020. They have cited COVID19 as the reason behind incompletion of the construction.
On 8 September, 2024, HYDRAA in an official statement said, “Seven Villas demolished in Mallampeta Cheruvu, Dundigal are still under construction, are not occupied by any families and are in FTL without any building construction permissions. The builder is one Vijay Lakshmi (called lady Don locally), has many criminal cases booked against her and also connected to the local political leaders. Criminal cases / complaints were booked in the local Police stations on the builder Vijay Lakshmi”.
About HYDRAA
Hyderabad Disaster Response and Asset Monitoring and Protection Agency (HYDRAA) was established for TCUR (Telangana Core Urban Region) for the purpose of disaster management, asset protection and other functions. The TCUR is a term that refers to the area comprising the entire GHMC and areas of Hyderabad, Rangareddy, Medchal Malkajgiri and Sangareddy Districts up to ORR. Some of the important responsibilities of HYDRAA include Removal of lake encroachments and protecting assets of Local Bodies and Government.
