HYDERABAD: Directing the state government to finalise the Full Tank Level (FTL) of Durgam Cheruvu within six weeks and file a compliance report, a bench of the Telangana High Court on Monday ordered an interim stay to demolitions by HYDRAA.
Hearing a clutch of petitions, the bench comprising Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice J Sreenivas Rao said that no action should be taken by HYDRAA, Revenue or Irrigation departments against the properties of the petitioners until further orders. The petitioners include several homeowners who have been served notices of demolition of their properties on the grounds that they fall within the FTL and buffer zone of Durgam Cheruvu.
The court instructed all petitioners whose properties are under threat of demolition to submit their grievances to the Lake Protection Committee on October 4, 2024. The committee, constituted by the state government, will review the claims of the petitioners and examine documents related to the properties which have been marked for demolition by Revenue officials.
The court’s directive follows its earlier order asking the state government to explain how it had determined the FTL of Durgam Cheruvu which was reported as 65.12 acres. In the proceedings on Monday, the Irrigation department submitted lake memoirs confirming this FTL measurement.
Among the petitioners is L Urmila Devi, owner of Plot No. 79 in Amar Cooperative Housing Society, Guttala Begumpet, Serilingampally mandal of Rangareddy district. She challenged the demolition notice issued to her by the Revenue and Irrigation departments, arguing that her property does not fall within the FTL as per the descriptive memoirs of the Irrigation department. Another petitioner with similar grievances was also included in the case.
The court has adjourned the matter, pending the government’s submission of the finalised FTL and the petitioners’ representations to the Lake Protection Committee.