Uttam Kumar orders statewide crackdown on Irrigation department land encroachments

Hyderabad: Irrigation, Food and Civil Supplies Minister Capt. N. Uttam Kumar Reddy has directed a comprehensive and aggressive crackdown on encroachments of Irrigation Department lands across the Telangana State. He has instructed officials to act on a war footing to reclaim encroached irrigation properties and fence them to prevent further illegal occupation.

The minister issued these instructions during a high-level review meeting held on Thursday at Dr BR Ambedkar Telangana Secretariat. The meeting was attended by senior officials from the Irrigation Department, HYDRAA, Revenue and R&R departments.

Zero tolerance for irrigation land encroachments

Minister Uttam Kumar Reddy made it clear that there would be zero tolerance for irrigation land encroachments, especially when the lands are worth hundreds of crores of rupees. He emphasised that immediate measures must be taken to fence these properties and begin reclaiming them without delay.

As part of the efforts to safeguard government lands, the Minister requested the Advocate General for the appointment of a special GP exclusively for the Irrigation Department to handle any legal complications arising in the process of land protection.

131.31 acres of govt land encroached

Highlighting specific cases in Hyderabad, Uttam Kumar Reddy said that significant portions of land under WALAMTARI (Water and Land Management Training and Research Institute) and TGERL (Telangana Groundwater and Irrigation Research Laboratory) near Gandipet and Rajendranagar had been encroached.

Out of 426.30 acres of land in these areas, 131.31 acres have been identified as encroached. Of this, 81.26 acres fall under the ITIR (Information Technology Investment Region) jurisdiction and are currently under court litigation, while the remaining 50.13 acres have been directly encroached.

The Minister revealed that 20 cases related to these encroachments are pending in the district court and another two cases are ongoing in the High Court.

To recover the high-value lands, the Minister instructed officials from the Irrigation Department, HYDRAA, Revenue and R&R wings to work in close coordination. He also directed that the department prepare a complete inventory of all Irrigation Department lands, buildings and quarters across Telangana on a priority basis.

Further, he instructed the immediate repossession of illegally occupied Irrigation Department residential quarters and asked officials to submit a comprehensive report on the same.

Solar power plants on irrigation lands

Uttam Kumar Reddy reiterated that the State Government would act sternly to reclaim every inch of Irrigation Department land and prevent further encroachments through legal and administrative measures.

The irrigation minister also directed the officials to study the possibility of setting up solar power plants on irrigation lands abutting the irrigation canals and lands in irrigation projects across the state. He said that this subject was discussed in the last cabinet meeting. The cabinet had opined that power generated from such projects could be used for the major lift irrigation projects across the state.