HYDERABAD: To protect lakes and water bodies in all corporations and municipalities, the state government is expediting plans to establish a similar mechanism to HYDRAA. A decision on this is expected soon.
Sources said that the Department of Municipal Administration has recently sent proposals for creating a HYDRAA-like system across all corporations and municipalities.
There are 129 municipalities and 13 corporations, in addition to the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC). The government has noted that many lakes and water bodies in these municipalities are partially or mostly encroached upon.
An official stated: “The government is seriously considering establishing a HYDRAA-like system in districts. Currently, there is a Task Force in each municipality and corporation to address encroachments, but they are largely inactive. The government aims to revitalise these efforts with a new system.”
The municipal administration department has proposed conducting a survey of lakes and water bodies by forming special teams comprising officials from the Municipal, Revenue and Irrigation departments. Additionally, the department has suggested measures for protecting lakes, including fencing, monitoring through CCTV cameras and tree plantation.
It may be recalled that during a recent visit to Khammam, Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy instructed authorities to implement a HYDRAA-like system in their respective areas.