Chief Minister said all illegal buildings in FTL and buffer zones would be pulled down even if they had been in existence for 30 years.
Published Aug 28, 2024 | 6:51 PM ⚊ Updated Aug 28, 2024 | 6:51 PM
Marri Laxman Reddy Institute of Technology. (Facebook)
In continuation of the drive to remove the encroachments from the Full Tank Level (FTL) and buffer zones of lakes and nalas in Hyderabad, the state government issued notices to the management of Marri Laxman Reddy Institute of Technology, belonging to Malkajgiri BRS MLA Marri Rajasekhar Reddy, who is the son-in-law of Medchal MLA Chamakura Malla Reddy.
The Gandimysamma-Dundigal tahsildar issued the notice to the management asking it to remove the buildings and structures within seven days as they encroached into the FTL and buffer zone of Chinna Damera Cheruvu in Dundigal village.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, in an informal interaction with reporters on Wednesday, 28 August, said that all illegal buildings in FTL and buffer zones would be pulled down even if they had been in existence for the last 30 years.
The notice issued by the Revenue Department.
The notice said that there are buildings in an area of one acre, permanent sheds on two acres, parking space for vehicles on three acres, and college roads on 2.24 acres, totalling 8.24 acres of land.
The notice said if the management does not remove encroachments by the deadline, action would be taken under section 23 of the Telangana State, Water, Land and Trees Act (WALTA), 2002, and appropriate sections in the Telangana Irrigation Act, 1357. The notice was issued after the discovery of encroachments in a joint inspection of Chinna Damera Cheruvu.
The notice said that the Medchal-Malakjgiri district collector had ordered the inspection of the lake after the Telangana High Court ordered the submission of a status report on the tanks in the Hyderabad and Rangareddy districts.
The high court issued the orders after one Anil C Dayakar had filed a writ petition on illegal constructions made in the tank beds with a request to direct the authorities concerned to restrain the encroachers from constructing buildings or structures illegally in the lake beds and evict them if they had already built them.
He also wanted steps for the protection of the water bodies and their ecosystem.
The high court, in its order, said the report to be submitted should have details of the tanks and the encroachments in the FTL and that the boundaries and contours of the full tank level of lakes should be marked with stones.
In pursuance of the high court order, the collector ordered a joint inspection of the lake in which it was found that there were encroachments in the FTL and buffer zones of the lake.
It is not yet clear if the authorities would bring down the buildings as they house an educational institution.
The Hyderabad Disaster Response and Assets Monitoring and Protection (HYDRA) which has been tasked to remove such encroachments, usually moves in after notices are served by the departments concerned and no action is taken by the owners of the constructions.
The latest thinking among the HYDRA officials is that they should give considerable time to educational institutions since any hasty demolition of the buildings would affect the students.
Reavnath Reddy said he was clearing up the encroachments despite pressure on him to suspend the operations, referring to the demolition of a building owned by former Union Minister MM Pallam Raju’s brother.
He dared BRS working president KT Rama Rao to prove that either he or his family members had encroached on lake areas and he was ready to pull the buildings down.
The chief minister also issued a warning to those who raised buildings in the garb of educational institutions but did not say whether action would follow immediately.
He said that HYDRA, for the time being, is limited to Hyderabad only.
The chief minister said stringent action would be taken against the officials who had issued clearances and permission against rules.
He said his focus was on people’s representatives since he believed they should set an example for others. He said there was no need for any legislation for the constitution of HYDRA and that a Government Order (GO) would suffice.
The government would go by the guidelines and instructions given by the Supreme Court and National Green Tribunal in regard to the implementation of GO 111.
(Edited by Muhammed Fazil)
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