U-FERWAS seeks HYDRAA action against encroachments on Hyderabad open spaces
HYDERABAD: The United Federation of Resident Welfare Associations (U-FERWAS) called on the Hyderabad Disaster Response and Asset Protection Agency (HYDRAA) to safeguard green belts, parks, and open spaces in newly merged suburban neighborhoods. U-FERWAS also joined HYDRAA’s preliminary coordination meeting on 8 May 2026 at Buddha Bhavan, Hyderabad.
The meeting aimed to enhance coordination with Resident Welfare Associations (RWAs) for community development and disaster management in the CURE area.
During this discussion, U-FERWAS presented a detailed representation to HYDRAA Commissioner A.V. Ranganath, IPS. They highlighted widespread encroachments on parks, green belts, open spaces, buffer zones, and community utility lands in former Gram Panchayat layouts now merged into the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC), Malkajgiri Municipal Corporation, and Cyberabad areas.
Providing historical background, U-FERWAS noted that many layouts approved decades ago by Gram Panchayats and municipal authorities had designated land for parks, open spaces, green belts, nala buffer zones, and public utilities. Over time, much of this land has reportedly been encroached upon and converted for residential or commercial use.
To address these issues, the federation asked HYDRAA to work with municipal circles, town planning departments, former Panchayat offices, and urban development authorities to retrieve and digitize old approved layout plans, LP numbers, Panchayat permissions, and green belt demarcations. U-FERWAS stated this would help confirm the original status of lands reserved for public use.
In addition, U-FERWAS urged HYDRAA to conduct a comprehensive survey of merged suburban layouts, comparing current ground conditions with original plans to identify unauthorized constructions in parks, green belts, buffer zones, and public utility lands.
Furthermore, U-FERWAS recommended that, after legal verification, HYDRAA take strict action to remove illegal structures, restore parks and open spaces, protect drainage channels and buffer zones, and prevent future encroachments.
To promote transparency, the federation suggested creating an online public portal with approved layout plans, GIS mapping of parks and open spaces, and a complaint system for reporting encroachments. U-FERWAS also emphasized that resident associations have valuable local knowledge about original layout conditions, past encroachments, unauthorized permissions, and missing civic amenities.
From a disaster management perspective, the federation stressed that encroachments on lakes, nalas, open spaces, and green areas contribute to urban flooding, water stagnation, traffic congestion, less groundwater recharge, and environmental degradation.
To strengthen efforts, U-FERWAS requested that HYDRAA establish a formal coordination system with recognized RWAs for monitoring and verifying encroachments. The federation assured full cooperation in protecting public spaces, supporting planned urban development, and improving urban living standards.
The representation was submitted by B.T. Srinivasan, P. Aswini Kumar, Khaled Shah, K. Raghavendra Rao, Prakash Rao, Badrinath, Srilatha, C.S.N. Sarma, Jyothi Choudhary, Medha Nana Wadekar, Sudhakar, Sitaram Dhulipala, B. Upendra Reddy, Sheikh Arif Mohammed, and Sheikh Abu Faiz of U-FERWAS.
