Hyderabad: Environmental activist Dr Lubna Sarwath has cautioned that any claim to renotify the Surram Cheruvu in Bandlaguda with reduced Full Tank Level (FTL) area by the authorities concerned will be against the Lokayukta’s orders, illegal, ultravires and bad in law, liable for action.
Her statement came in response to advocate Vijay Gopal, who also commented against any attempt to alter the FTL boundaries of Surram Cheruvu, in a case he filed in Telangana High Court against Fathima Owaisi College for allegedly encroaching upon the lake along with other illegal structures.
The first case was filed in Lokayukta to protect Surram Cheruvu by Lubna Sarwath in 2016. At the time, she had alleged that there were 34 unauthorised constructions in FTL and 21 unauthorised constructions in the buffer zone of Surram Cheruvu.
She claims that a joint inspection by the higher-up of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC), Hyderabad Metropolitan Developmental Authority (HMDA), irrigation and revenue officials had ascertained that the structures including Fathima Owaisi College were illegally constructed.
She reminded that the then Hyderabad Collector had also notified the FTL and had submitted a preliminary notification of Surram Cheruvu to Lokayukta confirming all the illegal structures inside the lake’s FTL and buffer zone.
However, a stay was obtained from Telangana High Court by the aggrieved parties, which prevented the officials concerned from taking any decisive action against the alleged encroachers.
She said that while the final notification was awaited on determining the FTL of Surram Cheruvu, officials have submitted to the Telangana High Court that they would once again visit the lake and determine its FTL boundaries.
Dr Lubna pointed out the earlier visit of officials from various departments, where they were threatened of dire consequences by the encroachers, which was also mentioned in the Lokayukta’s order. She was asked to approach the Lokayukta again, based on the clearance of the cases pertaining to the High Court’s order, restraining the state government from taking any affirmative action against the alleged encroachers.
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