HMDA chief appeared before Chief Justice bench of High Court

Hyderabad: As the hearing on a PIL seeking protection of Ramanna Kunta lake from encroachment and construction in its buffer zone began in the Telangana High Court on Wednesday, CJ Alok Aradhe asked the HMDA commissioner whether all the water bodies and lakes within HMDA have been notified or not, as orders in this regard were passed by the Court a year ago, i.e. on July 27, 2023. Replying to the CJ Bench’s query, HMDA Commissioner Sarfaraz Ahmed, who appeared before a bench of CJ and Justice Jukanti Anil Kumar through video conference, informed that there are 3,500 lakes under the jurisdiction of HMDA, of which 2,525 are notified; steps will be taken to notify the remaining lakes. He expressed difficulty in notifying the remaining lakes on the ground that a survey has to be conducted as there are already illegal constructions in the buffer zones of the lakes. He sought at least six months’ time to notify them. Ahmed sought four months’ time to notify the lakes. Refusing to grant six months/four months’ time to HMDA to notify all the lakes in its jurisdiction, the Chief Justice said that “preservation of lakes is for the benefit of the future generation; if the delay continues, there will be no lakes in the future”. Ahmed’s argument was disputed by the counsel for the petitioner, following which the Chief Justice cautioned the commissioner to make correct statements before the court as making incorrect statements would have serious consequences. After hearing the Chief Justice’s observations, Advocate General A. Sudarshan Reddy told the court that out of the 3,532 lakes in HMDA’s jurisdiction, final notification has been issued on 230 lakes. Preliminary notification has been published on 2,525 lakes in their buffer zone. The Chief Justice’s bench recorded Ahmed’s argument that final notification for the remaining 2,525 lakes will be issued within three months; a compliance report will be submitted in three months. Recently, the CJ bench had summoned the HMDA commissioner as the counsel for the petitioner had pointed out that illegal constructions were being carried out in the buffer zone of the lake by the National Institute of Tourism and Hospitality Management despite the high court orders. Ahmed had assured the court that the illegal constructions would be removed; this was recorded by the CJ court in its orders on Wednesday. The bench was passing judgement on a PIL filed by Human Rights and Consumer Protection Cell Trust, represented by its member and SPA holder Thakur Indraja Singh, seeking directions to the Union of India and the state government to protect the lake from encroachment and construction in its buffer zone. The hearing of the case was adjourned to November 4, 2024 for filing of a compliance report by the HMDA commissioner.