Atleast 60% of Hyderabad lakes have been encroached upon as per the experts. Against this data, HYDRA under the helm of IPS officer AV Ranganath constituted by the Government of Telangana with complete support from chief minister Revanth Reddy has so far reclaimed over 43 acres of land from encroachers. Until now the department has demolished atleast 18 buildings – most of them constructed illegally in lake catchment area / FTLs. For the city dwellers well being it is indeed a great initiative. However, it is a long journey to bring back glory to diminished lake bodies of Hyderabad. And, the road is fraught with challenges – political pressure is just one of the hurdles.
When Chief Minister Revanth Reddy announced the reorganization of Enforcement Vigilance and Disaster Management Department and announced HYDRA in July, with IPS officer AV Ranganath at the helm of things and strengthened its force from 800 to 2200 personnel – it was just the beginning of a mammoth exercise evidently fraught with challenges.
HYDRA – Hyderabad Disaster Response and Asset Monitoring and Protection Agency, has been created with key responsibility – that is – to manage disaster response and protect public assets within the Telangana Core Urban Region. Under TCUR come the Greater Hyderabad Municpal Corporation and the Outer Ring Road as well.
The key responsibilities of HYDRA not just include managing disasters like urban flooding which is the common malady in recent years especially during monsoon – but also address the cause of the flooding. For years now news agencies, environmentalists, activists have been making representations to the government to protect the lakes, and the FTL and catchment areas that were being increasingly encroached. The result of the encroachment was there to see year after year. The rain water that was ideally meant to flow into these lakes that were quite judiciously built by the Nizam government many years ago – are obstructed due to the illegal structures that have come up. The Nalas have been occupied leaving the water nowhere to go but into the low lying areas and also the roads that are flooded with the slightest of the rains.
The frequent flooding and disruption and destruction to life on one side and the affect this has on the water table on the other – the encroachment of lakes was a ticket to disaster, yet the authorities turned the other way until now. Not to mention that the city has been gradually moving towards water scarcity and pollution of the lakes including the ones like Himayat Sagar and Osman Sagar that are designated drinking water source with the illegal constructions and resorts in the vicinity letting the sewage into these water bodies. Many of these structures are illegal constructions built on the FTL area – which is the ‘Full Tank Level’ of a lake.
These private structures are just the tip of the iceberg. Over the years colonies have come up, communities have started living there, roads have been constructed and it is no exaggeration to say that over 60 percent of the lakes in Hyderabad have been encroached upon – and this is corroborated by HYDRA commissioner in one of his interviews.
And, hence when HYDRA comes with the three way approach to manage disaster and protect lakes
- Prevention of Encroachment – by demolition of illegal structures and stop further encroachments
- Retrieve Encroached area by reclaiming the lake body, the FTL and the Catchment area.
- And, Revive the lake that has shrunk due to illegal encroachments.
- It is indeed a welcome preposition for any Hyderabadi, who has a iota of love for the city, and care for the future.
HYDRA has been carrying out demolitions around Osman Sagar, Kapra and several other lakes where buildings are constructed without permissions in designated FTLs. HYDRA has also been investigating cases where FTLs have been fudged to allow constructions to happen.
As Commissioner says people or government officials involved in allowing the encroachments will also be dealt with and announced that soon there will be HYDRA police stations where cases will be booked. Evidently the newly constituted body will face various legal hassles like in the case of the latest demolition of N Convention. The owner actor Nagarjuna took to X to announce he has had the patta and hence the permission for building the convention centre.
Hydra Commissioner AV Ranganath also said in several interviews and via press releases that having a patta does not give permission to build structures on lake’s FTL. He reiterates that no one can tamper with the lake or endanger its existence.
While opposition calls it political vendetta – when the result of this mega exercise is to save lakes, revive them and clean the water bodies – one can only breathe a sigh of relief. After all if this went unchecked for a few more years the city of lakes would have been bereft of them.
As social activist and long-time advocate of Save The Lakes – Lubna Sarwath says – Hyderabad would have become a ghost city with no water to drink even.
She however advises HYDRA to not just look at the present data. She insists that atleast 300 lakes of Hyderabad have been removed from the map, and says that in the existing records of HMDA – the FTLs have already been tampered with. She hopes that deeper investigation takes place in order to implement regulations and save all the original lakes of Hyderabad.
While HYDRA is headed in the right direction – one of the many challenges would be what to do with the residential communities that have sprung up over the years – albeit illegally by the said construction companies – now house gullible residents; what about the colleges and hospitals that were built without permission – For example the Salar E Millat Educational Trust founded by AIMIM MLA Akbaruddin Owaisi has constructed educational institutions’ buildings in the Salkam Cheruvu of Chandrayanagutta that has encroached upon the core area and FTL of the lake; not to mention the political pressure from the parties in power.
Will CM Revanth Reddy and HYDRA come up with a resolution to several such problems that will rise due to the unhindered encroachment happening since years now? Will CM be able actually stand by his decision to follow Gita and not spare friends? What about the innocent people caught in the situation, especially the poor?
Meanwhile, HYDRA is getting citizens’ approval from all around. After all Hyderabad City has been dealing with the aftermamth of encroachments but until now there was no step taken towards resolving the issue. And, now people want this initiative to extend to the rest of Telangana.
