HYDRAA was brought in the city to protect government properties — Government leaders
Hyderabad… the city of everyone’s dreams. Not just in the two Telugu states, but all over India, Hyderabad carries a certain craze. Because of this craze, the real estate sector in Hyderabad rocketed ahead in no time. Whatever the state of the real estate boom, the demand for land sales in Hyderabad has never really dropped. Even back when it was a united state, land and houses in Hyderabad city were always in massive demand. Even after the state split, this same trend continued.
Even after the division, land prices here never dropped even a little. The lives of real estate middlemen flourished tremendously. No matter how many governments changed, the real estate business kept going the same way. Real estate never faced any real trouble. That’s exactly why land and house prices in the capital kept soaring skyward continuously.
The Picture That Changed With HYDRAA’s Arrival
In the year 2023, the Congress government came to power in Telangana. Revanth Reddy took charge as the Chief Minister of Telangana. A few days later, the Telangana government released GO Number 99 to protect the properties/assets of Hyderabad city. Through this GO, orders were issued forming HYDRAA (Hyderabad Disaster Response and Asset Protection Agency).
This very GO handed certain powers to HYDRAA. HYDRAA was formed with two main objectives: making sure the lakes within Hyderabad city’s limits are not encroached upon, and putting a stop to illegal constructions. Removal of flexes, hoardings, and advertisements that don’t follow the rules was also brought under HYDRAA.
HYDRAA was given wide-ranging powers. Revanth Reddy’s idea was to give HYDRAA special powers as an autonomous system, a statutory body. HYDRAA’s jurisdiction extends up to Hyderabad’s Outer Ring Road (ORR). HYDRAA’s main duty is to protect lakes and government properties within the Telangana Core Urban Region (TCUR). Along with GHMC, municipalities and corporations within the ORR limits also fall under the TCUR jurisdiction.
Chief Minister as HYDRAA Chairman
The Chief Minister serves as the Chairman of HYDRAA. Ministers belonging to the combined Rangareddy and Hyderabad districts are members in it. The state government’s Chief Secretary, DGP, Principal Secretary, and the GHMC Mayor have been given a place in it. AV Ranganath was appointed as HYDRAA Commissioner.
The Revanth Reddy government formed HYDRAA by expanding the Disaster Response Force team (DRF) that was set up under GHMC during the KCR government’s tenure, and granting it special powers. By allocating additional staff, this team was increased from 800 to 2,200 people. Along with Commissioner AV Ranganath, the state government’s Municipal Administration & Urban Development (MA&UD) Principal Secretary supervises HYDRAA.
AV Ranganath as HYDRAA Commissioner
If forming HYDRAA itself was one sensation, appointing AV Ranganath as its Commissioner was another key development. His track record is the reason for that. Not bending to power, money, or temptations of any kind is AV Ranganath’s nature. In his career, he gained recognition as a dynamic officer by investigating many important cases in his own distinct style.
The Other Side of the Coin
All this is only one side of the coin. Looking at the other side, there are quite a few allegations against HYDRAA. Many allege that, without touching the houses of Congress leaders and their relatives at all, the Congress government brought in HYDRAA solely to harass opposition leaders. Many argue that a lot of poor people are suffering various hardships because of HYDRAA.
Has Hyderabad’s Real Estate Gone Down?
Many argue that Hyderabad’s real estate went down because of HYDRAA’s formation. There are also people who argue that this is indeed true. Several realtors have even taken their own lives. But HYDRAA officials, however, tell a different story. They say that because of HYDRAA, government lands in many places have been freed from the clutches of encroachers. Whatever the case may be, this much is true: at the same time, many anguished cries from people affected by HYDRAA’s demolitions have circulated widely on social media platforms.
Not really knowing what would happen because of HYDRAA, many people stepped back from buying properties. Before HYDRAA came, even if an apartment was built on a lake and sold, it would still sell out. But after HYDRAA arrived, buyers started checking properties not once but twice. Only after confirming that all the documents are proper are they now buying properties.
Caution or Fear?
Whether it is caution or fear on the part of investors, it’s hard to say, but after HYDRAA entered the picture, both investors and those looking to buy their own homes have stopped buying just any property that comes their way. They are now carrying out the purchase process only after carefully examining all the documents.
Because of this, some people started spreading the word that real estate fell after HYDRAA’s entry. This propaganda spread from mouth to mouth until, eventually, an atmosphere of fear about HYDRAA formed among ordinary people. A misconception was created among the public that HYDRAA exists only for demolitions. But HYDRAA is not just about demolitions — it also works toward protecting properties/assets.
In Conclusion
The claim that the real estate sector in the city went down because of HYDRAA is untrue. If you look at the records, land prices show the same stability now, after HYDRAA’s arrival, as they did before it. The talk of real estate going down is nothing but a fabricated propaganda.