SANGAREDDY: Even as action taken by HYDRAA has drawn attention to encroachment of public property and water bodies, a whopping 70 of the 89 tanks in Sangareddy, Narsapur and Patancheru constituencies have been encroached, according to officials.
Officials confirmed on condition of anonymity that in Ameenpur village of Patancheru, nearly all tanks and flood canals have been encroached upon. They said that one particular tank has vanished altogether while the Shetty Kunta, which was originally spread across 54 acres, is now just 45 acres. Similarly, the 441-acre Pedda Cheruvu has lost 12 acres to illegal structures. The entire 6.11 acre Upparivani Kunta has been encroached.
HYDRAA Commissioner Ranganath, who inspected the area recently, said that the illegal structures would be removed while warning of strict action against officials whose negligence allowed these encroachments.
Sources said that encroachments have been going on unchecked due to collusion between Irrigation and Revenue authorities, as seen by the lowering of Full Tank Level (FTL) of some water bodies and the issuance of No Objection Certificates (NOCs) for construction.
Land prices in the region, driven by industrial growth and new residential developments, range from Rs 10 crore to Rs 50 crore per acre. This has led to people with political influence encroaching on lands, converting them into plots and selling them. This has left middle-class buyers, who unknowingly purchased these plots, anxious.
Land grabbers have had a field day in Jinnaram mandal of Narsapur constituency too, where nine water bodies have been encroached. Komati Kunta in Bollaram village has seen eight of its 16 acres encroached, and Rayan Cheruvu has lost four acres of its 108-acre area. In Gummadidala mandal, four ponds, including Golla Kunta cheruvu in Chitkul village have been encroached.
In Sangareddy district headquarters, 18 water bodies have been identified with encroachments. Mahbubsagar pond, originally spanning 484.2 acres, has lost 4.2 acres, while Erra Cheruvu, spread over 21.6 acres, has seen 6.5 acres encroached.
There is a growing sense of unease among the locals over the sale of Cheruvu Sikham lands as plots, and the public is questioning why the government has not taken action against officials who allowed these encroachments to go unchecked.
HYDRAA warns
HYDRAA Commissioner said the illegal structures would be removed
Officials said nearly all tanks and flood canals have been encroached upon