HYDRAA Commissioner, AV Ranganath clarified that the agency is not involved in surveying or relocating residents along the Musi River, nor has it marked or demolished any houses.
Published Sep 30, 2024 | 7:39 PM ⚊ Updated Sep 30, 2024 | 7:39 PM
HYDRAA pipes down on demolitions (@RanganathAV1 on X)
In a matter of few hours, HYDRAA drastically moderated its approach to demolitions. After the Telangana High Court gave a sharp rap on its knuckles, HYDRAA has transformed into an agency with changed priorities.
In a long statement, HYDRAA commissioner AV Ranganath on Monday, 30 September, did not even hint that the HYDRAA would continue its demolition spree with regard to illegal uninhabited buildings. All of a sudden, demolition has become a very sensitive word that HYDRAA does not like to associate itself with.
To begin with, HYDRAA commissioner clarified that HYDRAA had nothing to do with the survey of dwellings of the people along the banks of Musi River and that it was not involved in shifting them to other places.
He said that it has not taken up any demolitions on the Musi Riverbank and that it has not marked any houses there. “Beautification of Musi is entirely different project. It is being implemented by Musi Riverfront Development Corporation,” he said.
Having said that HYDRAA is not playing any role in Musi River Front project, Ranganath reminded the poor and middle-class sections of society that their houses would not be razed under any circumstances and that they should not allow themselves to be carried away by adverse campaigns going on in social media.
He reiterated that HYDRAA’s jurisdiction is within the Nehru Outer Ring Road and said it was unfortunate that all demolitions not only in Hyderabad, but in Telangana state and even outside are being linked to HYDRAA. The social media campaign is scaring the people, he said.
He clarified that HYDRAA will never touch the houses of the poor and would not pull down any house that is inhabited and that all demolitions are not attributable to HYDRAA.
The HYDRAA Commissioner said that their aim is to protect nature, lakes, nalaas, tanks and take action to ensure that residential areas and roads are not inundated when there is heavy rain. “HYDRAA will ensure free flow of the flood when there is heavy rain and thus serve the residents of Hyderabad,” Ranganath said.
He said that HYDRAA was now involved in vehicular traffic management by holding talks with the senior officials of the Traffic Wing of the police Commissionerates. Already, it has done a review with officials on identification of the places where traffic snarls are likely and will make a plan of action to remove bottlenecks that hinder traffic flow. HYDRAA is now also focused on studying to what extent automobile exhausts would pollute the air, he said.
The commissioner said that the other responsibilities of HYDRAA are to ensure deployment of disaster management teams in areas where there are likely to be rains by coordinating with the Met Department. “Our priority is to save the lives of the people and their properties in such calamities,” he said.
The HYDRAA teams would remove fallen trees that block traffic on roads, pump out water that invades houses, de-clog the drains and nalas, he said.
HYDRAA’s priority is also to ensure that nalas that take rainwater to lakes are cleared of any obstructions and thus restore the name ‘lake city’, which Hyderabad used to be known for. In the past, all the lakes and tanks used to be inter-connected by means of canals and they used to supply water for drinking purpose.
HYDRAA will coordinate with Revenue, Irrigation, National Remote Sensing and State remote sensing agencies and decide the FTLs and buffer zones of lakes.
(Edited by Ananya Rao)
