Hyderabad: In another incident of a land scam, Kamuni Cheruvu lake in Moosapet, Hyderabad is on the verge of going under the grip of land fraudsters who are filling up the lake at night, building temporary rooms, and selling them to rich people.
Responding to a tweet over rising concerns of the encroachment at the lake, IT minister KT Rama Rao, on Monday directed the zonal commissioner of Kukatpally to immediately take action and for a case to be filed against the culprits.
“Ensure all encroachments are removed,” tweeted KTR.
A close analysis of Google maps with the old survey maps of Hyderabad has revealed that not only the full tank level but also one-quarter of the lake and nalas leading in and out of it, have been encroached.
GHMC officials have identified several encroachments within the lake in the last few days and said at least one acre of lake land, has been encroached. A complaint has been filed to stop encroachments.
GHMC’s lakes division assistant executive engineer, A Lakshminarayana said that they filed a complaint with Kukatpally police on November 7.
“An FIR was registered and police arrested a truck driver for dumping debris,” was quoted by the Times of India.
“Overnight, they (encroachers) built small rooms. We are removing them and fencing the lake. Some of the encroachers of Raghavendranagar are claiming that the then collector in 1992 had issued them land pattas close to the lake. At least one acre of the lake land has encroached,” he added.
While boards like ‘plots for sale in Kamuni Cheruvu’ have been noticed, lake protection activists are shocked at the mess of one of the biggest lakes spread over 48 acres in the Kukatpally IDL locality.
An FIR has also been pending with the Kukatpally police, yet no action has been taken.
TOI quoted Kukatpally inspector T Narsinga Rao over the inaction wherein he stated, “Previously, there was an FIR and this is the second case regarding the lake encroachment. GHMC has to be active in demolishing the illegal structures in and around the lake.”