HYDRAA clarifies on Lothukunta land dispute after HC's warning
Hyderabad: After the Telangana High Court took a serious note of the Hyderabad Disaster Response and Asset Protection Agency’s (HYDRAA) alleged illegal interference with private property in Lothukunta, Secunderabad, the agency issued a clarification denying the allegations.
The issue revolves around HYDRAA’s operation on Saturday, July 18, where they fenced off 106 acre of land in the Lothukunta area of Secunderabad Cantonment.
The Telangana High Court on Thursday, July 23, directed the deployment of Indian Army personnel to guard the Secunderabad property, saying it had lost faith in the state government and its agencies after repeated violations of its orders.
Justice Anil Kumar Jukanti had also said that if required, he could direct the army to take HYDRAA Commissioner AV Ranganath into custody and lodge him in an army barracks for repeatedly violating court orders.
HYDRAA has clarified that land belonging to Shanta Sriram Constructions lies in Survey No 1 and 2 in Lotkunta, whereas the government land fenced off by the agency lies in General Land Register Numbers 243 and 255.
The distance between the two sites is three kilometre, HYDRAA said. “GLR No. 243 and 255 have nothing to do with the court orders on private land regarding Survey No. 1 and 2,” the agency stated in a release.
The government land in GLR 243 and 255 has natural hills and trees where peacocks and rabbits roam freely. However, environmentalists had complained to the agency that the hills were being blasted at night and illegal mining was being carried out, the release added.
After examining these complaints, HYDRAA fenced off the land and protected public property worth Rs 10,000 crore, it said.
HYDRAA has said that Shanta Sriram Constructions obtained layout permissions in 2007 on private land in Survey Nos. 1 and 2 in Lotkunta but mentioned GLR numbers 243/P and 255/P when it applied for revised layout permissions in 2026.
They added that it was Survey Nos. 1 and 2 that Shantha Shriram had approached the court over; however, HYDRAA had fenced land in GLR numbers 243 and 255.
Maps provided by the Defence Estate Officers also show GLR 243 and 255 as government land, the agency said.
“Revenue officials are conducting a full investigation into Shantha Sriram Constructions’ application for revised layout permission by changing survey numbers. HYDRAA believes that all these matters will become clear after a full survey is conducted,” the release stated.
HYDRAA said that it could not disclose all details since the matter is currently before the High Court; however, it stated that this explanation was necessary due to the false information being circulated on social media.
This post was last modified on July 23, 2026 10:57 pm