Team of officials zeroes in on encroachments over Musi River

Rangareddy: A day after the Chief Minister A.Revanth Reddy asked the officials to ensure safe rehabilitation of families affected under Musi River Front Development project, the officials from Rangareddy district zeroed-in on encroachments at Musi River on Wednesday and took stock of the trespassing over the river bed.

Over a dozen officials from Revenue and Irrigation wings accompanied by Additional District Collector RangareddyPratima Singh and RDO Venkat Reddy today visit Musi River bed area at Attapur in Rajendranagar and square off the extent of encroachments near the water way. Panic grips the local people who found wonder watching the visiting officials enquiring about the area besides taking stock of the Full Tank Level (FTL) and Buffer Zone.

Suspicious over the existing structures there, both of a residential and industrial nature, the officials ask the owners to furnish the documents to which most of them were allegedly skipped at the moment.

It is learned that a total number of 16,000 structures were identified as encroachments over the Musi River in Hyderabad, Rangareddy and MedchalMalkajgiri district.

Earlier on Tuesday, the Chief Minister A.Revant Reddy had asked officials to prepare a report over the extent of encroachments on both sides of the Musi River to roll-out measures to rehabilitate the families being affected as part of the planned demolition drive.

CM asked the officials that conservation of the ponds inside the outer ring road area should be taken as a responsibility. Monitoring of the lake areas should be done strictly so to prevent encroachments over ponds and canals.

“FTL and buffer zones of the water bodies should be identified with the ORR limits. CCTV cameras should be installed at the ponds and the same should be linked with the command and control center for proper supervision of the ground situation,” the CM said.

It is learned that the Chief Minister asked the officials to ensure Double Bedroom houses for all the affected families whose houses are getting affected during the demolition drive over the Musi River bed.

Although the Collector K.Shashanka was found missing at the scene at the time of inspection, he was later found huddling with the GHMC, Revenue, Irrigation and municipality officials at MRO office Rajendranagar.

During the review meeting, the Collector asked the officials to collect appropriate details of the affected families to be affected under encroachment removal drives over the Musi River Bed so as to help rehabilitate them into double bed room houses.

Officials were told to take the help of Police and carry out spot verification to appropriate data of the families like Adhaar Cards, ownership documents, power bills and required permissions regarding the structures etc. the owners should be informed that the houses they are living in are at the risk of flooding and not suitable for habitation in future.

While elaborating about today’s inspection and the number of families being affected, the Collector said, “a total number of 332 structures have been identified as encroachments in Musi catchment area under Gandipet and Rajendranagarmandals under Rangareddy district. “While nearly 32 structures were identified in Gandipetmandal, a whopping 300 illegal structures were found illegally built under the Musi catchment area in RajendranagarMandal,” informed the Collector.

It is said that a number of four teams have been constituted to identify the illegal structures and to take up the rehabilitation process.