SITTING ON a plush black sofa, T Ramanaiah, 67, narrated how four acres of government land allotted two decades ago to 20 Dalit families in Hyderabad’s Kukatpally area had allegedly been usurped by land grabbers in a span of 10 years. As he handed over a petition, handwritten on a letterhead that sported a portrait of Dr B R Ambedkar, a police inspector sitting beside him patiently noted down his complaint and said, “We will send a team to the area within two days.”
The scene was set in Hyderabad’s Buddha Bhavan, a government complex where a new, one-of-its-kind police station is coming up. The station, which will start its official functioning by the second week of February, will deal only with cases of government asset protection and disaster management. Meaning, a police station exclusively meant for the protection of lakes, parks, open lung spaces, government land and other assets in Hyderabad.
The Indian Express took a peek into the functioning of this unique police station, which will come under direct supervision of Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy and Hyderabad Disaster Response and Asset Protection Agency (HYDRAA) Commissioner A V Ranganath, even before it is allotted office space.
Ramanaiah told The Indian Express, “We had petitioned the revenue officials several times before turning up here. We are hopeful that the police here will give us our land back.”
Shortly after Ramanaiah’s case was heard, came another petitioner — K S N Reddy. A resident of the posh Saroornagar area in Hyderabad, Reddy said that about 30 acres of the Saroornagar lake had been encroached upon.
“The lake has shrunk from 90 acres to 60 acres due to illegal constructions,” Reddy, who has been living in the area for 26 years, told The Indian Express. “Either the buildings have to be regularised under the law or demolished for violating environmental laws.” He carried with him a map of the shrunken lake.
Reddy’s grievance, too, was noted down by a police officer of the rank of inspector.
Back inside his office, HYDRAA Commissioner Ranganath, an IPS officer, was surrounded by a crowd of petitioners, who had come in to raise their grievances regarding similar cases of lake and land encroachments — while some wanted a quick inspection of the sites, others wanted a clear assurance of demolitions.
“Now all the cases, hundreds of them, that HYDRAA had lodged in different police stations will be transferred to this police station,” Ranganath said.
According to an order issued by the state government on January 7, the police station will be headed by an officer of the rank of Assistant Commissioner of Police. “This will be a team of police officers who are committed to environmental protection because we are doing this for posterity — for our children,” Ranganath said.
Adjacent to Ranganath’s office, in B-Block of Buddha Bhavan, some security officers were giving last-minute instructions to carpenters who were setting up cubicles for the police station.
Another petitioner, N Venkatesh, said, “Hyderabad has dozens of lakes and naalas which make the city unique. It is the duty of every citizen to protect these, especially when the city is facing urban flooding during the past few years.”
The criticism against the HYDRAA police station’s operations, however, is that several people who have already been living in buildings built on encroached land have no option but to deal with demolitions which happen rather quickly. So far, Hyderabad has seen demolitions of an array of villas, convention centres and even individual houses, which were built on lake beds. Ranganath, however, said, “Those who have usurped the land are very influential people who can fill the lakebed and construct on top of that. The police station is going to be a headache for them”.
With HYDRAA being the brainchild of Chief Minister Revanth Reddy, the police station will also be under scrutiny of Opposition parties in the state, including the BRS and BJP. HYDRAA’s powers are being used to settle political scores, both parties have alleged.
The January 7 Government Order, however, clearly states: “The police station will file cases against landgrabbers, encroachers and other public property damagers…”
Summing up, petitioner Ramanaiah said, “If such a police station did not exist, we would have been doing the rounds of three police stations in Hyderabad where we have lodged land-grab complaints.”
Discover the Benefits of Our Subscription!
Stay informed with access to our award-winning journalism.
Avoid misinformation with trusted, accurate reporting.
Make smarter decisions with insights that matter.
Choose your subscription package
