Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) working president K.T. Rama Rao addressing a press conference. File
| Photo Credit: NAGARA GOPAL
Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) working president KT Rama Rao has refuted allegations that he owns a farmhouse on land within the Full Tank Level (FTL) area at Janwada, located on the outskirts of Hyderabad.
During a press conference at Telangana Bhavan in Hyderabad on Wednesday (August 21, 2024), KTR urged officials to demolish all illegal constructions in FTL under the jurisdiction of Hyderabad Disaster Response and Asset Protection Agency (HYDRAA). He also stressed that no exceptions should be made, including for properties owned by government officials, political leaders, or ministers. ย
โI do not own a farmhouse; I have leased one from a friend. If it violates norms, demolish it. But the same standards should apply to all, including properties of Congress ministers and MLAs within FTL areas,โ he said.
Janwada village, situated in Shankarpally Mandal of Ranga Reddy district, is among 84 villages within a 10-kilometer radius of the Osmansagar and Himayathsagar reservoirs. Numerous illegal structures have reportedly sprung up in seven mandalsโMoinabad, Gandipet, Shamshabad, Shankarpally, Rajendranagar, Chevella, and parts of Shabadโin violation of GO 111, issued on March 8, 1996, to regulate construction in FTLs and buffer zones.ย
Despite restrictions on construction in the catchment areas of the cityโs reservoirs, which remained largely unenforced under previous regimes, including the BRS, the Congress government recently constituted the Hyderabad Disaster Response and Assets Monitoring and Protection (HYDRAA) to oversee the demolition of unauthorized structures. HYDRAA has been carrying out demolitions of unauthorized buildings within the FTL and buffer zones of lakes and other water bodies for several days.
