HYDRAA frees two lakes from massive encroachment
The Hyderabad Disaster Response and Assets Monitoring and Protection Agency (HYDRAA) on Tuesday undertook major operations to protect two water bodies in separate locations of Rangareddy district, reclaiming encroaching lake areas and adjoining government land.
In one operation, HYDRAA recovered the footprint of 6.05 acres of Eedula Kunta in Khanamet village of Serilingampally mandal, allegedly wiped out due to encroachments. The agency has also secured an adjacent 5.16-acre government plot. In another action, HYDRA cleared encroachments at Kotha Cheruvu in Kokapet village of Gandipet mandal and stopped attempts to occupy the upstream lake land by building a dam across the water body.
The action followed complaints from local residents and field inspections were carried out jointly with tax authorities, irrigation authorities and municipal authorities.
Eedula Kunta, located in IT Corridor of Hyderabad, in Survey No. 7 of Khanamet village was wiped out after the flood channels supplying the lake were diverted and its boundaries were changed. The lake is part of the hydrological network of lakes including Thammidikunta and Sunnam Cheruvu.
Residents appealed to HYDRAA, claiming that the lake was gradually being drained to facilitate construction activities. The matter is also being heard by the National Green Tribunal. After field inspections, HYDRAA identified traces of the lake and confirmed its existence through village and revenue records, supported by satellite images from the National Center for Remote Sensing.
Officials demarcated the lake boundary and started fencing on Tuesday. HYDRAA also acquired 5.16 acres of adjacent government land in the process.
Officials said the ambiguity arising from overlapping boundaries of Kukatpally and Serilingampally mandal was exploited by encroachers who obtained permission to build within Kukatpally limits but encroached on the lake in Serilingampally mandal. The facts came to light during a field inspection by HYDRAA Commissioner AV Ranganath before the land was secured.
At Kokapet’s Kotha Cheruvu with a Full Tank Level (FTL) area of 72 acres, HYDRAA officials found that a dam had been built across the lake, producing land up to 20 acres upstream. The builder planned the entire open space of his layout within the FTL area, using it to create basketball and volleyball courts and a children’s playground.
Based on this, the officials removed the fencing and temporary structures erected in the lake area and fenced the entire FTL lake, the statement informed.
Published – 26 May 2026 21:13 IST