The demolition of illegal structures built on lake beds and in buffer zones in Hyderabad by HYDRAA has become a major headache for the Revanth Reddy government in Telangana, to the extent that even some Congress leaders are opposing the exercise.
However, these demolitions seem to have inspired the Andhra Pradesh government, led by Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu.
On Saturday, State Municipal Administration and Urban Development Minister Ponguru Narayana announced that the Naidu government is also considering creating a HYDRAA-like mechanism to demolish illegal constructions that have encroached on water bodies and river courses.
Though no official decision has been made yet, Narayana stated that the government is working on a similar plan to remove illegal constructions encroaching the Budameru River’s course in Vijayawada.
"The recent floods in the Budameru River that inundated several colonies in the northern part of Vijayawada were mainly due to large-scale encroachments along the river course, reducing it to a narrow stream. If people want to avoid such situations in the future, the only option is to remove the encroachments and widen the river," the minister said.
However, considering the strong resistance from residents along the Musi River and other water bodies like Kukatpally Nala and Ameenpur Lake in Hyderabad, the Naidu government is keen to avoid unilateral demolitions.
"We will explain the situation to the people, provide them with alternative accommodation, and give them sufficient time to vacate before proceeding with demolitions. Without convincing the people, we will not make any unilateral decisions," he said.
A similar operation is expected in other cities where houses are at risk of submergence during floods.
"In Nellore, a similar situation exists due to the encroachment of Sarvepalli Canal, which caused severe flooding in 2015. We will undertake canal expansion after removing the encroachments," he asserted.
