HYDRA Court Hearing: Telangana High Court Questions HYDRA Over Demolition of Houses Belonging to Poor

HYDRA Court Hearing: The Telangana High Court has once again expressed strong concern over the functioning of HYDRA while hearing a petition related to alleged encroachments at Errakunta in Tarnaka. The court questioned whether demolition drives were being carried out selectively against houses belonging to poor families.

During the hearing, the petitioner’s counsel argued that nearly eight acres of Errakunta lake had been encroached upon and that repeated complaints had been submitted to the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation, HYDRA, and the Lake Protection Committee. Despite these complaints, no effective action was allegedly taken to address the encroachments.

Responding to the submissions, the High Court made sharp observations, stating that authorities appeared to be demolishing only the houses of economically weaker people while failing to act against other alleged encroachments. The remarks came amid growing public debate over the implementation of demolition drives in Hyderabad.

The court issued notices to HYDRA and the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation seeking their response to the allegations. It also postponed further hearing of the petition until July 16.

HYDRA has been actively conducting demolition drives to remove alleged encroachments from lakes, ponds, and government lands across Hyderabad. While these operations have received support from some sections, they have also drawn criticism from those who claim that enforcement has not been applied uniformly.