Durgam Cheruvu FTL disputes will be settled in 4 months, says HYDRAA chief

Hyderabad: “HYDRAA will find a permanent solution for Durgam Cheruvu FTL in four months without leaving any room for disputes,” said Lake Protection Committee chairman and HYDRAA chief AV Ranganath.

Along with the government departments such as the National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC), Survey of India (SoI), Survey of Telangana (SoT), Revenue, Irrigation, GHMC and HMDA, engineers from educational institutions like IIT, BITS Pilani and JNTU will also be involved in determining the FTL of Durgam Cheruvu, he said on Friday.

The HYDRAA chief met with the residents living around Durgam Cheruvu to discuss their issues on Friday.

Ranganath said the final report will be prepared after studying the NRSC satellite images and SoI records. He said he has taken into consideration the objections raised by the residents of the surrounding areas on the preliminary notification given by the HMDA in the past regarding Durgam Cheruvu FTL. The notification was given following the directions of the Telangana High Court.

‘Every department calculates FTL in their own way’

After speaking about their objections, representatives of all six colonies who participated in the programme handed over the information they had to Ranganath. Residents requested the HYDRAA commissioner to resolve the 25-year-old problem regarding Durgam Lake FTL and buffer zones. The residents also said in 25 years, the Lake Protection Committee has never heard their arguments openly and expressed their gratitude to Ranganath.

The residents expressed their concerns that, over the decades each department had given different calculations on the FTL while the lakes in other places are disappearing and the FTL of Durgam Cheruvu has been increasing. Many complain that social media and some media organisations are showing them as ‘squatters’.

‘Every flooding changes FTL’

“We are unable to construct a house in the vacant lots here while others are unable to sell their homes. In 2000, the lake filled up due to heavy rains. Every time flooding occurs, the FTL is re-drawn and the disputes continue. Our arguments should be considered when the FTL is finalised,” the residents said.

After hearing all the arguments from the residents, the HYDRAA commissioner said that all scientific methods would be followed to finalise the FTL of Durgam Cheruvu and find a permanent solution to the long-pending problem. Action will be taken based on the survey numbers on the lake memos and village records leaving no space for discrepancies, he said.