Businessman claims HYDRAA demolition in Serilingampally damaged goods worth Rs 1.5 crores

Hyderabad: In an effort to protect water bodies, HYDRAA has increased its demolition campaign outside the Outer Ring Road (ORR) limits. However, victims whose buildings were demolished without their consent are protesting the agency’s actions.

In a recent demolition drive at Sunnam Cheruvu in Madhapur, the teams from the HYDRAA, GHMC, revenue and irrigation departments have razed down several unauthorised structures including houses, sheds and godowns in the FTL limits of the lake. Opposing the move, the locals tried to immolate themselves by pouring kerosene on them.

Ruparam Choudhary who runs a sanitary and plumbing material godown is also one of the victims in the demolition drive taken by HYDRAA (Hyderabad Disaster Response and Assets Protection Agency).

Speaking to NewsMeter, Ruparam said that in 2014 he purchased 233 sq yards of land in survey number 12 in SIET Employees Co-operative Housing Society Ltd, Guttala Begumpet, Serilingampally, in survey number 12 and also took another 233 sq yards on lease to establish a godown called Prakash Trading Co. Both the lands had the Urban Land Ceiling (ULC) and Land Regularisation Scheme (LRS).

“I am paying both the property tax to the GHMC and power bills. How can the HYDRAA teams demolish my godown without any prior notice? Around Rs 5.50 crores worth of stock was stored in the godown when the demolition drive was carried out by the teams. We have appealed to the officials to at least provide some time to shift the stock to another location. None of them bothered us, around Rs 1.5 crores worth of stock was damaged during the demolition drive,” Ruparam Choudhary said.

Reacting to the demolition drive in Sunnam Cheruvu, HYDRAA commissioner AV Ranganath said, “We will not demolish permanent houses/dwellings which are already occupied. The HYDRAA will demolish huts/temporary sheds which have come up in the FTL/buffer zone. As huts/sheds can come overnight, if we allow them, grabbers cannot be checked. Apart from that, the agency will also demolish permanent structures under construction in the FTL/buffer zone and permanent structures which are used for commercial purposes and have come up in the FTL/buffer zone. The only exception is a permanent home which has already come up in the FTL/Buffer zone.”