Hyderabad: The Hyderabad Disaster Response and Asset Protection Agency (HYDRAA) on Tuesday cleared five acres of encroachments from the Durgam Cheruvu lake bed near Madhapur’s Inorbit Mall. The area, illegally filled with soil, was being used as a commercial parking space allegedly generating up to ₹50 lakh in monthly rents. Acting on public complaints and satellite data, HYDRAA officials removed vehicles, fenced off the encroached land, and initiated further action to restore the site.
HYDRAA Commissioner AV Ranganath ordered the field-level intervention after receiving a complaint published in Praja Vani. A multi-departmental inspection confirmed that the encroachments fell within the Full Tank Level (FTL) of the lake. Based on these findings, HYDRAA proceeded to demolish the illegal structures and secured the cleared land with fencing to prevent further misuse.
Officials revealed that the encroached plot lacked proper land records and was being claimed by a public representative. Dumped soil raised the ground level by 10 to 15 metres, allowing gradual takeover of the lake bed. Besides hosting school buses and IT vehicles, the land had obstructed proposed plans for a public walking track.
Satellite images trace decades of encroachment at Durgam Cheruvu
Surrounded by rocky hills, Durgam Cheruvu is a historic freshwater lake that once supplied water to the Golconda royal family. Originally spread over 160 acres, the lake has shrunk to 116 acres due to encroachments from three directions. Only its northern boundary remains unaffected.
Satellite images from the National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC) have mapped this progressive shrinkage. By 1976, 29 acres had already been encroached. The lake remained stable until 1995, after which it lost another 10 acres by 2000. In the years since, an additional 5 acres have been illegally occupied, including the recently cleared plot.
The occupied area near Inorbit Mall had become a dumping ground for debris from hill excavation and construction. Once raised with soil, the site was illegally monetised as a parking lot. Despite lacking ownership records, a public figure claimed the land as private property. Officials noted that the claimed area has expanded annually without supporting documentation.
In 2014, the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) issued a preliminary notification identifying Durgam Cheruvu’s official extent as 160.7 acres. HYDRAA is now verifying this figure using satellite imagery, records from the Survey of India, and revenue documents. The agency confirmed that removal of further encroachments is underway.
HYDRAA’s lake protection campaign aims to restore the original boundaries of endangered urban water bodies like Durgam Cheruvu and deter future encroachments through coordinated enforcement.