HYDRAA clears encroachments in Jubilee Hills, reclaims park land worth Rs 200 crore

“Two acres of park land or nala land worth more than Rs 200 crores is reclaimed. Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) has decided to develop a good park on this land very soon,” said HYDRAA Commissioner A V Ranganath.

According to a HYDRAA, the encroacher, a tenant, had rented a house and illegally occupied government and public land surrounding the property without the owner’s knowledge. This individual was operating hotels and hostels by encroaching upon the road and nala, collecting an estimated ₹10 lakh by way of rent monthly, the statement said.

HYDRAA had previously issued notices to the tenant regarding the illegal structures. However, the tenant approached the court challenging the notices. The court, however, ruled that the tenant had no rights over these constructions and criticised the illegal encroachment of the road and nala. Following the court’s orders, the structures built by encroaching on the nala and road were demolished.

The Telangana government set up HYDRAA last year with a jurisdiction in Hyderabad and surrounding urban local bodies primarily to address the increasing urban challenges faced by the city, particularly concerning disaster management and protection of public assets from illegal encroachments.

Recently, on May 8, the first HYDRAA police station at the B-Block of the Buddha Bhavan in Secunderabad was inaugurated by Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy. With its own policing powers, it can register and investigate cases, fight land grabbing and encroachment, reclaim government lands, roads, parks, ponds, and canals.