“Hydra” is the most-feared word in Telangana now. Not because it means a ‘many-headed monster’ of Greek mythology but because it stands for Hyderabad Disaster Relief and Asset Protection Agency (HYDRAA).
This recently created government agency is in the news for ruthlessly pursuing its agenda: razing the alleged encroachments to the ground. Its key mandate is to protect the city’s lakes and water bodies. The agency operates within the limits of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) and the adjoining districts of Rangareddy, Sangareddy, and Medchal, to enhance disaster response and asset protection including investigating illegal constructions.
What triggered a massive political storm was the agency’s recent action against Telugu film star Nagarjuna’s property in the city. A portion of a high-profile convention centre, owned by the top actor, was demolished using bulldozers.
Spread over 10 acres, the “N-Convention Centre’ at Madhapur, a popular venue for celebrity weddings, has been under the scanner of the state government, as a portion of it allegedly came up on land falling under the full tank level (FTL) of Thammidi Kunta lake and its surrounding buffer zone.
The alleged illegal construction of N Convention Centre in 2015 was raised several times in the state assembly during the previous Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) regime. Then Congress MLA and present chief minister A Revanth Reddy challenged the then government to demolish it, as it was an illegal structure, but no action was taken.
The previous BRS government had issued notices to it but refrained from demolishing the allegedly encroached areas.
Meanwhile, Nagarjuna took to X to express his anguish over the demolition of the N-Convention Centre. “I am very much pained by the unlawful manner of demolition carried out in respect of N Convention, contrary to existing stay orders and court cases,” he said.
He said he had not done anything in violation of the law. Nagarjuna said the land on which the convention centre was built was patta land (land with a clear title).
“Not even an inch of tank plan was encroached. In respect of the building constructed inside the private land, there is a stay order granted against any earlier illegal notice for demolition,” he said.
In response to Nagarjuna’s post, HYDRAA said his N-Convention was built in the FTL and buffer zones, and had “no building permission whatsoever”.
It also accused N-Convention of “clearly manipulating the systems and process and continuing their commercial activity through the unauthorised structures built in the FTL and buffer zones.”
The officials said that they have revenue records showing that over 3 acres of lake land has been encroached. The Chief Minister too has asserted that his government would take action against illegal encroachers irrespective of their social standing or political affiliation.
“As a public representative, I will be failing in my duty if I don’t protect the government land and water bodies,” Revanth Reddy said.
The Congress faces a huge challenge as hundreds of constructions in and around Hyderabad are on the FTL of lakes, which are prone to submergence during heavy rains.
Last week, several bungalows, eateries and buildings that had come up in the buffer zone of a lake in Shivrampally on the outskirts of Hyderabad were demolished.
Since coming into force in June this year, the HYDRAA has demolished a total of 18 illegal structures and protected 43.94 acres of land within the Outer Ring Road (ORR) limits of the city.
Political overtones
The demolition activity has since taken political colours with parties attributing political motives behind the drive and demanding that the same treatment be meted to the constructions of powerful leaders of the ruling party as well.
The BRS Working President KT Rama Rao said the HYDRAA high drama was intended to deflect public attention from the government’s failure on several fronts.
Another senior BRS leader T Harish Rao alleged that the Congress government was targeting the leaders of the opposition parties threatening them that their properties would be demolished unless they joined the Congress.
The BJP MP from Malkajgiri in the city Eatala Rajender said the demolition drive was a publicity stunt by the Congress government. He warned that the poor and middle class sections could become the victims of the demolition drive.
The Hyderabad MP and Majlis Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) president Asaduddin Owaisi wondered whether the Chief Minister was ready to order demolition of government buildings constructed in FTL areas. “There are some government buildings built in FTL areas. Will these government buildings be demolished? In fact, the GHMC head office itself is built on a drain,” Owaisi pointed out. (EOM)
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