Hyderabad: A 2,000 square yard park on Road number 9 of Anjaneya Nagar locality in Moosapet is being encroached upon by certain individuals. Even though the state government had released Rs 50 lakh for the development of the park and the foundation stone has also been laid, encroachers have even gone to the extent of attacking those trying to protect the park.
A couple turned up at the weekly Prajavani grievance redressal program of the Hyderabad Disaster Response Assets Monitoring and Protection Agency (HYDRAA) at the Buddha Bhavan on Monday, January 20, and complained to HYDRAA commissioner AV Ranganath that the encroachers also prevented the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) officials from building a boundary wall around the park.
Common people with courage came out to seek justice during the Prajavani event, where 89 petitions were received and reviewed by Ranganath on Monday.
Among the complainants were Jyothi Choudhary, BN Rao, and Vardhanamma, who were all senior citizens, but had the resolve to protect the open spaces in their locality.
In their complaint, they alleged that an open space measuring 1,000 square yards in the Defence Colony of Neredmet (136 Division) was illegally encroached upon and leased out to the local corporator. They said that there was also a proposal to widen the road by 80 ft, which could also pose a significant threat to the open space, which they strongly believed, was meant for public utility.
“Even on December 3, we had complained to HYDRAA about another open space that was registered illegally. HYDRAA helped revive that open space on December 31, 2024, as our New Year’s gift,” Jyothi Choudhary told the media.
Similarly, a couple in their 60s lodged their grievance about Medikunta Cheruvu in the Nizampet municipality of Medchal-Malkajgiri district shrinking rapidly due to encroachments. They informed HYDRAA commissioner that the water body was originally spread around 45 acres. They requested HYDRAA to demarcate the full tank level (FTL) and utilize the buffer zone of the lake for public utility.
HYDRAA received multiple complaints regarding encroachments in Ameenpur municipality. Ranganath assured that a comprehensive survey of the lands under the municipality will be taken up.
Residents from various parts of the city lodged their complaints and grievances regarding the encroachments of lakes, parks, roads, and government lands in and around their vicinity directly to the HYDRAA commissioner AV Ranganath on the occasion.
Ranganath reviewed every complaint using Google and Survey of India’s maps, and the National Remote Sensing Centre’s (NRSC) satellite imagery, and showed the petitioners how the land in question used to look before and after HYDRAA was established.
Ranganath called the officials concerned and assured the petitioners that their grievances would be resolved after a thorough inquiry into every grievance.
It is to be noted that HYDRAA has initiated its own Praja Vani program to collect public grievances regarding encroachments in Hyderabad and act accordingly. Last week, the agency received 83 complaints of encroachments in Hyderabad.
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