HYDERABAD: Advising HYDRAA to treat the poor and downtrodden with humanity and compassion while removing unauthorised encroachments on water bodies and government lands, Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy inaugurated the first HYDRAA police station at Buddha Bhavan in Secunderabad on Thursday.
He urged officials to bring cases involving the poor to the state government’s notice for alternative arrangements. Stressing that Hyderabad Disaster Response and Assets Protection Agency (HYRAA) must show no leniency toward the rich and elite encroachers, he instructed officials to act responsibly and not treat their duty as just a job.
The chief minister also unveiled new vehicles for HYDRAA including DCMs, Scorpio cars and bikes. He clarified that HYDRAA is not a demolition agency but was established to protect public property, as illegal encroachments are blocking nalas and causing floods even during minor rainfall.
Refuting claims that real estate is declining due to demolition drives, he said the government is, in fact, boosting the sector by developing an IT park on 400 acres in Kancha Gachibowli. He questioned why some political parties were opposing these initiatives under the guise of environmental protection.
Accuses BJP of obstructing riverfront project
Lashing out at the BJP, he accused them of obstructing the Musi Riverfront Development Project, which aims to rejuvenate the 55-km stretch of the polluted Musi river. “They are cleaning Sabarmati in Gujarat, the Ganga in UP, and Yamuna in Delhi. Why stop Telangana from restoring Musi?” he asked. “If the BJP does it, it’s right. But if Congress does it in Telangana, is it wrong?” he asked, stating, “If you have a grievance against me, take it up with me. But don’t prevent good things from happening. Let’s work together to preserve our heritage and revive the city,” he said.
Highlighting the consequences of misgovernance, he said cities like Chennai and Mumbai face floods, Bengaluru has water shortages, and Delhi battles air pollution — man-made disasters he doesn’t want Hyderabad to face. He emphasised that HYDRAA was created to control encroachments and prevent such outcomes, recalling how even light rains once turned Hyderabad’s colonies into water ponds.
He urged citizens to protect ancestral water bodies, warning that their disappearance threatens survival. Confident in HYDRAA’s role in preserving Hyderabad’s 450-year legacy, he noted that governance must evolve — just as the Constitution has been amended over 100 times in 76 years.
HYDRAA Commissioner AV Ranganath said the agency has become more accessible in the past nine and a half months, with powers from irrigation, revenue, municipal, and police departments. He said the new police station will help act against land grabbing, forgery, and encroachments, and emphasised HYDRAA’s dual focus on asset protection and disaster response.