HYDRA all set to hold sway over whole gamut of govt lands, lakes

Hyderabad: The Hyderabad Disaster Response Assets Protection Agency (HYDRA) would take over the management of all government lands and lakes in its jurisdiction in the ORR (Outer Ring Road) limits soon. The State government has taken up the big exercise of the mapping of all State owned properties, mainly the vacant lands and the water bodies, to protect them from the encroachments by the HYDRA.

As part of the disaster plan for the HYDRA, State Irrigation, Revenue, Municipal Administration, GHMC, HMDA, police, and water board were already roped in to conduct a survey of the potential threat of floods in the colonies, water logging prone areas, fire mishap locations, and traffic-related challenges.

Top officials said that the fresh mapping of the water bodies and government lands would help the HYDRA to analyse the status of the lakes and vacant lands and then prepare an action plan on the protection of the precious water bodies and costly properties. “The protection of Telangana Core Urban Region in ORR limits is being given top priority, and the HYDRA is the custodian of all government-owned lands and lakes. An efficient agency will be hired for the mapping of the lakes and then finalise a report based on the outcome,” said the sources while emphasising that the other big challenge before the HYDRA is to respond quickly to the disasters, mainly the natural calamities like heavy rains, fire accidents, and floods in the colonies in the ORR limits.

Officials said that the government already decided to delegate absolute powers to the HYDRA to take action against those who occupied the water bodies illegally and also remove the illegal structures in the buffer and FTL of the water bodies. The HYDRA will take up a big drive to demolish the illegal structures soon after receiving a fresh report on the status of the lakes and government lands. The authorities of Hyderabad, Medchal, Malkajigiri, Rangareddy, and Sangareddy districts have already been asked to submit the district-level reports to HYDRA at the earliest to take action in the ORR limits.