Hyderabad: Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka has revealed that over 170 lakes were encroached upon during the BRS (Bharat Rashtra Samithi) regime. He assured that the State government is committed to addressing environmental issues and will be inviting Opposition leaders for discussions on the matter.
During a media conference at the Secretariat, Bhatti, who is also in charge of planning, held a PowerPoint presentation. He claimed that 20 parks had completely disappeared, and 171 lakes were encroached upon. Using satellite images gathered by the TS Remote Sensing Applications Centre (TRAC), he showed how the environment within the Outer Ring Road (ORR) area had been damaged over the past decade.
According to Bhatti, when the State was formed in 2014, there were 920 tanks (water bodies). Out of these, 225 tanks were fully encroached, 196 were partially encroached, and 499 remained untouched. However, in the last 10 years, 20 tanks that had no encroachments were fully encroached, 24 tanks that were partly encroached were completely overtaken, and the extent of encroachments on 127 tanks increased significantly.
Bhatti criticized the Opposition for spreading false information about HYDRAA (Hyderabad Riverfront Development Authority) and the clean-up efforts for the Musi River. He also accused them of making baseless allegations about demolitions. He emphasized that the State government is working transparently and is taking steps to rehabilitate those affected by the encroachments. Bhatti questioned why previous leaders, including K Chandrashekar Rao, K T Rama Rao, and Harish Rao, failed to protect the lakes despite their promises.
He stressed that the encroached lakes belong to the people of Hyderabad and that everyone has a responsibility to protect these water bodies. “If we don’t stop these encroachments now, the lakes will disappear,” Bhatti warned.
The Deputy CM further stated that the government is eager to attract investments to Hyderabad and improve the city’s global standing. He also mentioned that the State is open to suggestions for the rejuvenation of the Musi River. “Our doors are open for any constructive advice. I will personally write letters to all Opposition leaders, inviting them to share their suggestions,” Bhatti concluded.
