Set up in July by the ruling Congress government to replace the Enforcement, Vigilance and Disaster Management wing of the government, Hydra is mandated to tackle illegal encroachment on water bodies in the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation limits and surrounding areas.

Since its formation, the body has been on a demolition spree, tearing down structures belonging not only to rival parties like the BRS, the BJP and the AIMIM, but also some Congress leaders such as Pallam Anand, brother of former Union Minister MM Pallam Raju. .

According to officials, from June 27 to August 24, Hydra razed 166 illegal structures and recovered 44 acres of encroached lake land.

For instance, on August 18, two buildings and several other structures at Anand’s luxury sports village Oro and several permanent and temporary structures belonging to industrialist GV Bhasker Rao, chairman and MD of Kaveri Seeds Co Ltd and ex-member of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams, were demolished on the grounds that they were built on the fragile full tank level (FTL) area and buffer zone of Gandipet lake.

While the FTL is the highest level that water in a water body can reach, a buffer zone is the protected area around this that’s kept clear of any development.

Properties belonging to the BJP’s executive committee member C Sunil Reddy, who unsuccessfully contested last year’s Telangana assembly election from Manthani, were also demolished around Gandipet lake.

Bulldozers also brought down four structures belonging to AIMIM Bahadurpura MLA Mohammed Mubeen, five other constructions belonging to AIMIM MLC Mirza Rahmat Baig, and at least 16 temporary sheds that supporters of Khairatabad Congress MLA Danam Nagender had allegedly built in a public park at Nandagiri Hills locality. of Jubilee Hills.

Besides these, authorities also took down 54 temporary structures that BRS leader Ratnakaram Sai Raju had allegedly built in the FTL and buffer zones of Chintal Lake in Gajularamaram village. According to authorities, this freed up 3.5 acres of lake land.

The exercise is not limited to Hyderabad alone. According to sources, BRS leader and Jangaon MLA Palla Rajeshwar Reddy has received a notice following a police complaint from the state’s irrigation department that some educational institutions he runs have encroached on Nadam lake in Medchal-Malkajgiri district. Meanwhile, a farmhouse taken on lease by BRS working president and former minister KT Rama Rao in the catchment area of ​​Himayat Sagar and Osman Sagar in Ranga Reddy district could also face demolition, officials said.

Hydra officials claim that while in some cases, the alleged encroachers built permanent facilities such as restaurants and amusement facilities, others erected temporary structures for personal use.

On its part, the government claims that the drive is only aimed at clearing encroachments in FTL areas and buffer zones around Hyderabad’s lakes.

“There is no partiality or targeting in this exercise. Whoever has encroached will face the long arm of Hydra,” Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka told The Indian Express.

But the Opposition claims that leaders are being selectively targeted. In a post on X last week, BRS spokesperson Manne Krishank alleged that buildings that Chief Minister Revanth Reddy’s brother Anumula Tirupathi Reddy owns in Hyderabad’s Durgam Cheruvu also stands in the FTL zone.

“Congress MLA Vivek Venkatswamy and Revenue minister Ponguleti Sreenivas Reddy own farmhouses near lakes, will they be demolished too?” his post asked.

With questions being raised, the Revanth Reddy government on Wednesday and Thursday issued notices to the CM’s brother, A Tirupathi Reddy, over properties he owns near the Durgam Cheruvu lake in Madhapur in Cyberabad area.

The demolition notices were issued by Revenue department officers to several property owners, including Tirupathi Reddy’s residence and offices located in the Madhapur Amar Cooperative Society. The notices stated that the structures must be removed within a month. At least six other residential societies and commercial areas abutting the lake have been issued notices.

The notices were issued under the Telangana Water, Land and Trees Act.

The CM’s brother, in a statement, said that when he had purchased the property in 2015, he was unaware that it was on protected lake land. “If the government finds that my properties are in the FTL, I have no objection to authorities demolishing them. I will cooperate,” he said.

Meanwhile, AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi, whose Fatima Owaisi College at Bandlaguda too has come under fire for alleged violations, has claimed that government buildings such as GHMC’s headquarters also stand in the FTL zone.

“Would the government demolish these too?” he asked last week.

Despite the criticism, Hydra’s actions have found support among activists and environmental protection groups, with several city residents participating in a “Save Lakes, Save Lives” around Gandipet lake last weekend.

“After the demolition of the N-Convention center, we have started receiving dozens of complaints about encroachments of lakes and ponds from ordinary people,” one Hydra official said.