90-yr-old farmer moves HC, blames HYDRAA for demolition of property

Hyderabad: There seems to be no respite for HYDRAA Commissioner AV Ranganath from courts. On Wednesday, May 4, the Telangana High Court issued a contempt notice to the officer over violations of its demolition orders allegedly carried out on April 14 at Ailapur village in Sangareddy district.

The 90-year-old agriculturist petitioner, MA Shareef, told the court the Hyderabad Disaster Response and Asset Protection Agency claimed ownership of his 36.37 acres of land and demolished several structures, including cattle sheds, a farmhouse and servant quarters, in the presence of police.

The High Court had earlier instructed HYDRAA not to interfere with existing structures and act in matters involving Full Tank Level encroachments.

The petitioner alleged that even after displaying pattadar passbooks and sale deed dating back to 1959, HYDRAA went ahead with the demolition on April 11. He further stated that CCTV cameras were broken and his caretakers were allegedly subjected to intimidation by HYDRAA officials.

Taking note of the submissions, the Telangana High Court ordered notices to be issued to Ranganathan, the Sangareddy District Collector and Joint Collector, revenue officials of Ameenpur mandal, officials of the GHMC and local panchayat bodies, and the Station House Officer of Ameenpur Police Station, seeking their response to the alleged violation of the court’s order.