HYDRAA recommends criminal proceedings against six erring officials

Hyderabad Disaster Response and Asset Protection Agency Commissioner AV Ranganath has initiated action against six officials who allowed unauthorized constructions within the buffer zones of lakes.

Mr. Ranganath has written a letter to Cyberabad Police Commissioner Avinash Mohanty recommending initiation of criminal proceedings against the officials for abetting the lake development. The errant officials include Nizampet Municipal Commissioner Ramakrishna Rao and Deputy Commissioner of GHMC's Chandanagar circle N. Sudhamsh.

Others involved include the Deputy Town Planner of Chandanagar, Deputy Planning Officer of HMDA, Deputy Director of Survey Works, Nizampet and Tehsildar of Bachupally. According to the details shared by Mr. Ranganath, the Chandanagar officials also bypassed the online building permission system in TS-bPASS to issue permissions for the illegal constructions within the buffer zone of Erla Cheruvu.

“Despite the objections of the irrigation officials, they granted permission by putting a point in the comments column that filling up is mandatory,” said Mr. Ranganath.

The other four officials were booked for the violation of Errakunta Lake in Bachupally area of ​​Nizampet Municipal Corporation, where government land was declared as private. In this case, the deputy director of the Survey Settlement had filed a report confirming that it was private land, but got confirmation of another report declaring it as government land, which he kept for himself, Mr. Ranganath informed.