HYDRA Commissioner AV Ranganath - the man on a mission

Hyderabad: For quite some time you must be hearing the term HYDRA and the demolition of encroachments in the same breath frequently. Revanth Reddy-led Congress government constituted Hyderabad Disaster Response and Assets Monitoring and Protection (HYDRA) and it will protect lakes and safeguard government properties within Outer Ring Road limits. 

A 2007-batch IPS officer from Telangana cadres AV Ranganath, who has served in various capacities earlier, took charge as GHMC Enforcement, Vigilance, and Disaster Management (EV & DM) Commissioner in June this year. The state government later renamed EV & DM as HYDRA. 

HYDRA has been given a free hand by the government to take action against all the encroachments on government properties such as parks, playgrounds, footpaths, land parcels and water bodies and ensure effective disaster management in the city limits. The government has allocated a budget of Rs. 200 crore to the enforcement wing. As per reports, the authorities of HYDRA have reclaimed a massive 100 acres of government land within 30 days of its formation. 

The HYDRA Commissioner AV Ranganath has previously investigated several high-profile cases including the rape and murder of B Pharmacy student Ayesha Miran. Then, he was the additional superintendent of police of East Godavari district. He was given the task of identifying the culprits after the high-profile murder case. The IPS officer’s investigation resulted in identifying P Satyam Babu as an accused in the case. However, he was later acquitted. 

During his stint as a Nalgonda SP, Ranganath investigated the brutal honour killing of P Pranay, a dalit man who had married an upper class girl Amrutha. The dalit man was brutally hacked to death in Miryalaguda. The Nalgonda police arrested the girl's father, Maruthi Rao who was the prime suspect in the murder. Five others including Rao’s brother Sravan were also arrested in connection with the gruesome murder case.

Also Read: HYDRA responds to demolition of N Convention