Telangana High Court hears petition on lake encroachments in Hyderabad

The Telangana High Court, led by Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice J. Sreenivas Rao, has addressed a public interest litigation regarding encroachments on the buffer zone of Rammamma Kunta Lake, a vital water body within the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) limits.

By Legal Correspondent

Hyderabad: A two-judge bench of the Telangana High Court, led by Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice J. Sreenivas Rao, has addressed a public interest litigation regarding encroachments on the buffer zone of Rammamma Kunta Lake, a vital water body within the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) limits. The petitioner alleged that, the National Institute of Tourism and Hospitality Management (NITHM), has made unauthorized constructions in the Full Tank Level (FTL) area of the lake, violating earlier court orders.

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The petitioner has sought the court’s intervention to remove these encroachments and to invalidate the building permit issued to the NITHM for construction in the protected area of the lake. In response to these concerns, the court had previously issued a direction on July 27, 2023 to the Lake Protection Committee (LPC) to notify the buffer zones of all water bodies within HMDA limits.

The committee was tasked with providing a compliance report by the next hearing. On July 24, 2024, the HMDA Commissioner, Mr. Sarfaraz Ahmed, informed the court that a total of 3,532 lakes and water bodies fall under HMDA jurisdiction. He added that final notifications had been issued for 230 lakes, while preliminary notifications had been issued for 2,525 lakes. The Commissioner assured the court that the final notification for the remaining lakes would be issued within three months. However, during the most recent hearing, the petitioner’s counsel contested the claim made by the government regarding the removal of encroachments.

The petitioner argued that the encroachment by NITHM on the FTL of Rammamma Kunta Lake had not been fully cleared and it still existed. In light of these conflicting statements, the court granted the petitioner two weeks to file an affidavit supporting their claims of ongoing encroachment. The Special Government Pleader representing the state, meanwhile, referred to a report filed by the Chairman of the Lake Protection Committee and the HMDA Commissioner, which stated that the encroachment had been identified and entirely removed. The court has instructed the Special Government Pleader to submit an affidavit supporting this claim at the next hearing.

Furthermore, the court has directed the office to register a suo motu petition concerning the issuance of final notifications for all water bodies within HMDA limits, underscoring the importance of protecting these environmental assets. The case has been adjourned, and the court will continue to monitor the progress of both the encroachment issue at Rammamma Kunta Lake and the broader efforts to protect Hyderabad’s water bodies.