Revanth Reddy's Ambitious Plan to Reclaim City of Lakes Hyderabad

Old Hyderabad was known as ‘City of Lakes’. Himayat Sagar and Osman Sagar serve as the sources of drinking water supply to the residents of city. As decades passed by, the city developed into a metropolis by 2000 and developers continued to flout the construction-related regulations and the officials kept sanctioning building plans with impunity. 

During the course of development of the city, the developers largely violated the regulations stipulated by Hyderabad Municipal Corporation and Hyderabad Urban Development Authority, as well as their successors Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation and Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority. 

After years of neglect by the officials pertaining to the encroachment of government properties, especially the urban water bodies, Chief minister Revanth Reddy launched an environmental crusade with the formation of Hyderabad Disaster Response and Asset Protection Agency (HYDRA) on June 27, 2024.

HYDRA led by Commissioner AV Ranganath wasted no time in making its presence felt. By August 24, the agency had already razed 166 structures and reclaimed nearly 44 acres of water bodies from the clutches of illegal occupation. The demolition drive has spared no one from Tollywood celebrities to influential politicians who have built educational institutions on encroached government lands.

Hyderabad city is surrounded by several huge lakes, however, these water bodies have shrunk due to unchecked rapid construction activities and encroachment of full tank level (FTL). Satellite data released by the Remote Sensing Agency has revealed that between 1979 and 2024, Hyderabad's lakes shrank by a staggering 61 percent.

Taking a step to save our lakes, the Revanth Reddy-led Congress government has started focusing on encroachments from the past three decades. The HYDRA is meticulously verifying violations of Full Tank Level (FTL) and buffer zone regulations. The government body is making an attempt to protect Hyderabad's approximately 600 lakes, including Ameenpur Lake, which the Union government has designated as the first biodiversity heritage lake in the country, from further encroachment.
 

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