HYDRAA reclaims 1,000 acres till date
The reclaimed land is valued at around Rs 50,000 cr, says agency’s chief Ranganath
Hyderabad: The Hyderabad Disaster Response and Asset Protection Agency (HYDRAA), which targeted encroachments on government land, including lakes, parks, and roads since its inception in July last year, has freed over 1,000 acres of land in Greater Hyderabad region till date. The agency conducts eviction drives, removes illegal structures, and secures reclaimed land to protect public property.
HYDRAA, which was formed on July 19, 2024, as per the directions of Chief Minister Anumula Revanth Reddy, conducted more than 100 drives to remove about 600 encroachments. In the process, it reclaimed around 480 acres of government land, 235 acres of lakes and 220 acres of roads and several other unauthorized structures. The agency also removed encroachment on more than 15 acres of nalas and 25 acres of parks.
According to HYDRAA Commissioner AV Ranganath, the reclaimed land is valued at around Rs 50,000 crore. The agency also rejuvenated six lakes at a cost of Rs 58.40 crore. Due to the rejuvenation of six lakes, their area has increased from 105 acres to 180 acres as the agency retrieved about 75 acres of encroached land.
The Commissioner said that HYDRAA is receiving a positive response from the citizens.
“So far, HYDRAA received more than 5,000 complaints from the citizens related to encroachments of lakes, parks, roads, nalas, government land and illegal layouts. Nearly 75 per cent of these have been resolved, with priority given to basti areas and waterlogging-prone areas,” he told The Hans India.
Ranganath further said that around 60 lakes already vanished from the city due to rampant encroachments and neglect. However, six lakes have been fully rejuvenated at a cost of Rs 58.40 crore - Bathukamma Kunta (Amberpet), Bum-Ruk-Uddin-Dowla Lake (Rajendranagar), Sunnam Cheruvu (Madhapur), Thammidikunta Lake (Madhapur), Nalla Cheruvu (Uppal), and Nalla Cheruvu (Kukatpally). Besides, 14 more lakes have been identified for rejuvenation, with proposals sent to the government. The installation of 1,000 CCTV cameras in 180 lakes in GHMC is under progress with an estimated cost of Rs 8.60 crore.
Last week, the HYDRAA had reclaimed 36 acres of government land valued at approximately Rs 3,600 crore in Kondapur, Rangareddy district. It is the second most valuable recovery to date. In Gajularamaram in Quthbullapur, the agency recovered 317 acres worth nearly Rs 15,000 crore from encroachers.
Recently, in another major operation, it removed encroachments and recovered nearly 12.5 acres of government land, valued at around Rs 1,100 crore. At Banjara Hills Road No. 10, it cleared encroachments spread over five acres of prime land valued at about Rs 750 crore. At Mahadevpur in Gajularamaram, encroachments on a 3.5-acre park site reserved for public use were removed. It also protected over 3,700 square yards of park land from encroachment in Bandlaguda Jagir municipality of Rangareddy district. Recent drives have also led to the reclamation of land in Satamrai near Shamshabad airport, valued at about Rs 500 crore. The objective is to protect valuable government property. HYDRAA’s drives will continue across the metropolitan region to identify and remove illegal encroachments on government and public-utility lands, said Ranganath.
The agency is also using GIS, drones, satellite data, and AI to track assets and disasters. More than 1,200 lakes and nearly 5,000 km of nalas have been mapped, with plans for geo-fencing, CCTV surveillance, and annual monitoring to safeguard public assets, the official added.
