HYDRAA reclaims land worth ₹1L-cr in T’gana

HYderabad The Hyderabad Disaster Response and plus shelter office (HYDRAA), a statutory offstage formed by the Telangana authorities, has protected the government lands from encroachments and reclaimed encroached lands and lakebeds, all worth over ₹1 lakh crore, officials familiar with the matter said on Saturday.The biggest drive of HYDRAA took place on Friday, when the authorities, in a span of a few hours, prevented government land, valued at nearly ₹30,000 crore, from being encroached. “Following a high court order, the HYDRAA took up fencing of nearly 200 acres of government land between the prime areas of Puppalaguda and Khajaguda. Going by the present market value, the value of the land is around ₹30,000 crore,” HYDRAA commissioner A V Ranganath said in a post on X.The drive also secured a landscape of granite formations believed to be around 2.5 billion years old. For decades, environmentalist groups like Save the Rocks Society, have been fighting to protect this area, which is one of Hyderabad’s most significant geological landscapes, he said.Though the high court had given the orders in 2019, directing the municipal and revenue departments to safeguard both the government land and the rock formations, there was inordinate delay in demarcation and fencing leaving the area vulnerable to encroachments, he added.Ranganath said following a latest complaint about possible encroachments of the precious land in the heart of the city, he, along with the municipal and revenue department authorities inspected the area. “On Friday, we took up the fencing operation and protected the land from being encroached,” he said, adding that Bhagirathamma Cheruvu, a large waterbody beside the land, would also be restored.Formed in July 2024, HYDRAA has been conducting a series of anti-encroachment drives, braving legal battles and resistance from encroachers of government lands and lakes in and around Hyderabad.In his speech on the Telangana Formation Day on June 2, chief minister A Revanth Reddy said HYDRAA had successfully reclaimed over 1,045 acres of encroached lake lands and government lands, valued at approximately ₹60,000 crores. “These assets now belong to the people,” he said.He said HYDRAA had been entrusted with the responsibility of reclaiming the government lands and restoring the lakes, ponds, and tanks located within the core urban areas, besides protecting the lands from being encroached by land sharks.With the latest drive at Puppalguda, the total value of the government lands protected by HYDRAA has touched nearly ₹1 lakh crore.In a presentation made during the Telangana Rising Global Summit 2026 held in December, the HYDRAA authorities claimed that the agency had ensured returning of 424 acres of government land to the public domain, freed 218 acres of roads for movement and safety, protected of 233 acres of lakes, including revival of 33 acres of lake beds to their natural contours, restored 25.65 acres of parks for community use and cleared 15 acres of nalas and drains, helping prevent the urban flooding.“And in smaller, scattered corners, 75 acres of footpaths and unauthorised structures removed,” it said.According to a senior official, in April, HYDRAA conducted a major operation against encroachment of government land at Ailapur in Ameenpur area of Sangareddy district and reclaimed 861 acres of government land with a market value worth ₹15,000 crore.Some of the major drives include: recovery of 317 acres of government land worth ₹15,000 crore in September at Gajularamaram in Quthbullapur mandal; reclaiming of 36 acres of land worth ₹3,600 crore at Kondapur’s Bhikshapathinagar, where makeshift eateries and vehicle sheds came up in the government land.A few specific lakes recently protected from massive encroachments include: Mushkin Lake at Narsingi, which was protected from illegal occupations within its Full Tank Level (FTL) boundaries, safeguarding land valued at over ₹5,500 crore on May 30; Kotha Cheruvu at Kokapet, which was cleared of 22 acres of encroachments, protecting government property worth ₹2,200 crore on May 21; six-acre Eedula Kunta lake, which was restored along with 5.16-acre government land parcel at Khanamet on May 26.“Besides, HYDRAA rejuvenated and restored other lakes like Bathukamma Kunta, Thammidi Kunta, and Sunnam Cheruvu in the last two years,” the official added.