Hyderabad: In a significant ruling, the Telangana High Court has granted temporary relief to residents living near Durgam Cheruvu Lake, halting the demolition of their homes based on allegations that they infringe upon the Full Tank Level (FTL) and Buffer Zone. The court’s stay will remain in place until the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority’s (HMDA) Lake Protection Committee issues a final notification on the lake’s official FTL.
The Division Bench, headed by Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice J. Sreenivas Rao, expressed frustration with the delay in finalizing the FTL, which has been pending since a preliminary notification in 2014. The court set an eight-week deadline for the HMDA and the Irrigation Department to complete the demarcation of the FTL for Durgam Cheruvu, emphasizing that no demolition actions could proceed until a final notification is issued.
The case came to the court’s attention following petitions from Amar Housing Society and individual residents, including L. Urmila Devi and Boda Priyatam Reddy. Among the affected are residents of Kavuri Hills and Amar Housing Society, notably Tirupathi Reddy, brother of Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy, who also stands to benefit from the ruling.
Petitioners challenged a recent revision of the FTL, which expanded it to 165 acres, up from the 65 acres and 12 guntas recorded in government data since 1970. The petitioners questioned the procedures followed by the government in altering the FTL and raised concerns about the lack of clarity in how the new limits were established. Senior counsel Avinash Desai, representing the petitioners, argued that objections to the preliminary notification had gone unanswered, yet authorities were moving ahead with demolitions.
During the hearing, government counsel admitted that only a preliminary notification had been issued and that a final notification was still pending. The court criticized the authorities for attempting to enforce demolitions without officially designating the FTL.
The High Court instructed the petitioners to present their objections to the Lake Protection Committee on October 4 at 11 am. Additionally, the court ordered the committee to address these objections and issue a final notification within six weeks of the meeting. Until then, the court ruled, no coercive actions, including demolitions, can take place in the areas surrounding Durgam Cheruvu.
This ruling provides temporary relief to residents, but the ultimate fate of their homes will depend on the final outcome of the FTL demarcation process.
