Hyderabad: Hyderabad Disaster Response Assets Monitoring and Protection Agency (HYDRAA) commissioner AV Ranganath said that encroachers have been trying to grab the endowments lands in Jagathgirigutta, and next Wednesday, January 22, a meeting will be held involving all the stakeholders, after which action will be initiated against the illegal structures and the encroachers.
On Saturday, January 18, Ranganath inspected Govindaraju Swamy temple in Jagathgirigutta after complaints came from officials of various departments, people’s representatives, and the priest of the temple, that some persons were trying to encroach into the temple’s ‘gundam‘ (open well).
Speaking with the media, the HYDRAA commissioner said that a few others, in the name of caste associations, had also built illegal structures on Venkatadri temple lands and were trying to sell them with political backing.
The locals informed Ranganath that there was an extent of 14.10 acres of temple lands belonging to both the temples and 66 acres under Parki Cheruvu in Jagathgirigutta.
He warned legal action would be initiated by sending notices against those who built compound walls and encroached upon the temple lands, and the gundam would be brought back to its original state.
The HYDRAA commissioner also reiterated that houses built and occupied before the formation of the agency will not be touched. “Structures that have come up in recent times will be removed after following due procedure,” he assured.
“Encroachers who try to act smart by building structures overnight and setting up electricity meters will not be spared. Google Maps will show exactly when a structure was built,” he said.
Ranganath informed that the much-awaited HYDRAA police station will be inaugurated in the next 15 days. The station will handle non-bailable cases against encroachers and if found guilty, will be sent to jail.
Government officials found showing negligence or aiding encroachers will be punished, he said.
HYDRAA police station at Secunderabad
On January 7, the Telangana government issued orders to establish a dedicated police station under HYDRAA. The police station will be established at B-block, Buddha Bhavan at Secunderabad.
According to the order, HYDRAA will function under a unified framework to address issues such as land encroachments, damage to public property, and other asset protection challenges. The agency chaired by the Telangana chief minister A Revanth Reddy comprises various wings including assets protection, disaster response, administration, legal, IT, and more.
The jurisdiction of the HYDRAA police station spans the Outer Ring Road (ORR) and its adjoining areas.
