Hyderabad: The Telangana Revenue Department issued a notice to all structures developed in the Full Tank Level (FTL) and buffer zone of Bon (Boin) Cheruvu also known as Hasmathpet Lake in Balanagar. The notice directs all encroachments and illegal constructions in the non-permitted limits of the lakes to be taken down voluntarily on or before Monday, September 2.
The department has warned of actions, including the razing down of structures and fines being levied over the individuals involved in encroachments, for defying its notice.
The notice, dated Tuesday, August 27 directs all illegal constructions to be removed within seven days of publishing. This action comes following the Telangana High Court’s order towards district collectors regarding encroachments in the water bodies of the city.
The collector Medchal-Malkajgiri district had directed the irrigation and revenue department officials to conduct joint inspections in and around the century-old Hasmathpet Lake. The officers found illegal constructions popped up near the lake and submitted their reports to the collector.
The Bon Cheruvu or Hasmathpet Lake, in the suburbs of Hyderabad, has 148 illegal constructions, which is the highest number of encroachments found in the inspections in the district. Local reports say that the number can be higher, as the lake is a very old water body and constructions have been made over the years.
According to the ToI, the revenue departments have slapped encroachment notices on 1,100 buildings in the districts of Medchal-Malkajgiri and Rangareddy districts.
Rampant encroachments were found around 13 lakes in the peripheral districts of Hyderabad, including Sunnam Cheruvu near Kukatpally, Medikunta Cheruvu in Nanakramguda, Gosaikunta Cheruvu in Goulidoddi, Pedda Cheruvu near Chandanagar, Nallagandla Cheruvu of Nallagandla, Durgam Cheruvu in Madhapur, Maddela Kunta near Saroornagar, Pedda Cheruvu in Peerazadigutta, Nalla CHeruvu in Uppal, Chinna Damera Cheruvu in Dundigul, Amber Cheruvu in Kukatpally, Chinnarayauni Cheruvu and Boin Cheruvu.
The Hyderabad Disaster Response and Assets Monitoring and Protection Agency (HYDRA) has been accelerating its efforts to remove illegal constructions and encroachments in the Hyderabad district and its peripheral districts including Rangareddy, Medchal-Malkajgiri, and Sangareddy districts, which have been posing a serious threat to water sources in Hyderabad and causing massive flooding.
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