Telangana HC Halts Demolition of Janwada Farmhouse by HYDRA

Hyderabad: The Telangana High Court has raised questions about the authority of HYDRA (Hyderabad Disaster Response and Assets Monitoring and Protection) and stopped the demolition of a farmhouse in Janwada until further notice. The farmhouse is said to be within the buffer zone or full tank level (FTL) of the Osmansagar reservoir.

The farmhouse, located in Rangareddy district, has been a topic of political debate for a long time. It is alleged to be owned by BRS working president KT Rama Rao (KTR), a claim he has denied. Pradeep Reddy Badvelu, who owns the farmhouse, went to court to stop officials from demolishing his property, which is built on 1,210 square yards of land. He argued that he is being wrongly linked to KTR for political reasons.

"People are trying to take over my property by claiming it falls under the FTL of Osmansagar. This could be done with political motives," Pradeep Reddy said.

For several years, Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy has claimed that the farmhouse belongs to KTR. As an MP, he even filed a case with the National Green Tribunal (NGT) and faced a case for using a drone to take photos of the property when BRS was in power.

Justice K. Lakshman, who is hearing the case, questioned HYDRA's powers and asked if they had issued any official notices about the buffer zone or FTL of Osmansagar. He criticized the state for not clearly defining these zones and allowing people to buy and build on such lands. “Why only punish the buyers? First punish all officials who allowed this to happen,” the judge stated.

The judge also mentioned he might call the head of HYDRA to court to explain their actions. The court learned that the local sarpanch gave building permission for the farmhouse on September 12, 2014, which the judge found improper because a sarpanch does not have the authority to grant such permission.

Justice Lakshman asked for more information about other buildings identified by HYDRA and the actions taken against them. The court has scheduled the next hearing for September 12, waiting for more details on HYDRA’s actions and the rules about the FTL of Osmansagar.