Telangana | KTR's farmhouse edges close to demolition under HYDRAA drive
State Irrigation Department officials arrive at Janwada, KT Rama Rao's farmhouse, to take measurements of alleged encroachment
Janwada, the farmhouse of former state minister and BRS working president KT Rama Rao (KTR), appears set for demolition under a drive initiated by the newly formed Hyderabad Disaster Response and Asset Monitoring and Protection Agency (HYDRAA).
The agency, among key initiatives of the Revanth Reddy-led Congress government in Telangana, recently demolished a part of the N-Convention Centre owned by Telugu film star Nagarjuna. The action, carried out in the Cyberabad area of Hyderabad, was based on allegations that 1.12 acres of the centre encroached upon the Full Tank Level (FTL) or buffer zone of the Thammidi Kunta Lake.
Telangana Irrigation Department officials at the farmhouse of BRS leader KT Rama Rao.
State Irrigation Department officials entered KTR's farmhouse on Tuesday (August 27) evening and took measurements of the alleged encroachments. It is reported that the demolitions may start at any minute.
Father-Chief Minister
For long, there have been allegations that KTR violated the FTL limits and buffer zone in Usman Sagar Lake to construct the farmhouse. With his father and BRS supremo K Chandrashekar Rao being the Chief Minister of Telangana from 2014 to 2023, no officials were allowed to enter the premises.
Seven months after the Congress came to power and Revanth Reddy took charge as Chief Minister, HYDRAA was formed. The agency is mandated to demolish structures encroaching upon ponds, ditches, canals and government land.
Once the demolition is done, the entire area is restored to the state government.
Legal action
When HYDRA began to create a buzz, builder Pradeep Reddy (also a childhood friend of KTR) moved court to prevent Janwada from coming into the picture.
But the Telangana High Court declined to pass any order to not demolish the alleged illegal structure. The court categorically said that state agencies should follow due process of law while dealing with the structure, if found to be illegal.
The government also informed the court that it was an illegal structure. “The High Court case is now centred around whether or not the structure falls in prohibitory limits of the water body. But, even otherwise, it is an illegal structure because the panchayat secretary, not the sarpanch, is the sanctioning authority. Hence, the structure is liable for demolition by the local municipal authority, if not HYDRA,” pointed out a senior state official.
BRS leaders worried
KTR claimed the farmhouse was not his but was leased from his friend Pradeep. However, there is no explanation as to why he filed a complaint against Revanth Reddy and others when the farmhouse was not his.
The visit of Irrigation Department officials to KTR's farmhouse is said to have triggered anxiety among other BRS leaders, who are now wondering is next.
(This article was originally published in The Federal Telangana.)
