Hyderabad: An investigation by the Hyderabad Disaster Response and Asset Protection Agency (HYDRAA) has confirmed that a real estate developer encroached upon parts of the Musi river and a nearby stream at Manchirevula village in Gandipet mandal, Ranga Reddy district.
The findings were based on field inspections, satellite data, and topographic sheets, as reported by The Hindu.
The developer, Sri Aditya Kedia Realtors LLP, is constructing four residential towers with 38 floors each.
According to HYDRAA’s findings, satellite data from the National Remote Sensing Centre’s Digital Elevation Model (DEM) showed that about 2.34 acres of the Musi riverbed and 3.03 acres of the buffer zone were occupied by the project. The investigation also found that 0.37 acres of a connecting stream, which carries floodwater from Muski Cheruvu and Nagireddy Kunta, had been encroached upon. The stream, with an average width of 16 metres, was found to have lost part of its natural course, and the builder had not built the required stormwater drain, as directed in the No Objection Certificate issued by the Irrigation Department, The report added.
Survey officials with HYDRAA confirmed that the riverbed and buffer zone were filled up for construction. Topographic maps from the Survey of India showed similar violations, indicating encroachments of 1.77 acres of the river and 2.58 acres of the buffer zone.
Although the developer claimed that the 3.03 acres in question were patta land, HYDRAA’s analysis, supported by DEM data and survey maps, identified it as part of the riverbed and buffer zone.
Earlier, an HMDA Planning Officer had filed a police complaint against the same developer for constructing a wall in the Musi riverbed and removing Maximum Flood Level (MFL) stones. HYDRAA also observed that the ownership details of some land parcels in survey number 476, where the project is located, remain unclear.
Citing the recent flooding of the project site, HYDRAA Director A.V. Ranganath has written to the Gandipet Tahsildar, directing a re-survey of the land with the HYDRAA team present. The Tahsildar has been asked to issue notices to the concerned parties and submit a detailed report on land ownership and encroachment within two weeks, The Hindu quoted him as saying.
