HYDRAA investigation confirms Musi encroachment by builder; report sought from Revenue Department

An investigation by the Hyderabad Disaster Response & Asset Protection Agency (HYDRAA) has confirmed the alleged violation of Musi river and a connected stream by a real estate developer at Manchirevula village of Gandipet mandal in Ranga Reddy district.

HYDRAA carried the investigation into the project through physical inspection and on the basis of satellite data and topographic sheets before coming to the conclusion about encroachment by Sri Aditya Kedia Realtors LLP, for a project constituting four residential blocks with 38 floors each.

The satellite data from the Digital Elevation Model (DEM) by the National Remote Sensing Centre has confirmed that the river course has been encroached to the extent of 2.34 acres by the project, which has also occupied the buffer zone to the extent of 3.03 acres, by raising structures on it.

The DEM data also revealed that the construction has encroached upon 0.37 acres of the stream joining the river course with a width of 23 metres at the confluence, and an average width of 16 metres. The construction has also continued into the buffer zone of the stream to an extent of 0.48 acres. The stream carried flood water upstream of the river from Muski Cheruvu and Nagireddy Kunta. The builder has not constructed a stormwater drain as directed in the No Objection Certificate issued by the Irrigation department, HYDRAA investigation revealed.

Survey officials with HYDRAA too have confirmed the violation by filling up the river course and buffer zone, while the Survey of India toposheets showed the encroachment of river to the extent of 1.77 acres and the buffer zone to the extent of 2.58 acres. The builder has claimed that 3.03 acres was his patta land which fell into the river’s buffer zone, but as per the DEM data, SoI toposheets and the survey map of the HYDRAA, the area is in the river bed, and the area where buildings are coming up proved to be the buffer zone, the HYDRAA probe revealed.

A police complaint had been filed earlier by HMDA Planning Officer against construction of a wall in Musi river bed, and removal of the Maximum Flood Level stones by the builder.

HYDRAA has noticed that the status of the land in survey number 476, where the project is coming up, is ambiguous, and there were parcels where the title is not clear.

Presenting all the evidence, and citing the inundation of the project during the recent floods in the river, HYDRAA chief A.V. Ranganath has written to the Tahsildar of Gandipet directing him to conduct a re-survey of the land in presence of the HYDRAA survey team, to demarcate the boundaries with geo-coordinates. The Tehsildar has been asked to issue notices to the persons concerned and submit comprehensive report about the land status and encroachment within two weeks.