Hyderabad’s Disaster Response and Assets Monitoring and Protection (HYDRA) unit is currently demolishing actor Nagarjuna’s N-Convention Centre due to allegations that it encroaches on the Full Tank Level (FTL) area and buffer zone of Thammidikunta Lake. The FTL refers to the maximum spread of a water body, where construction is restricted, while the buffer zone serves to prevent further encroachments.
Earlier this year, the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) tasked its zonal commissioners with forming lake protection committees to prevent encroachment around the city’s water bodies. Recently, the National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC) reported that Hyderabad’s lakes have shrunk by 61% between 1979 and 2024.
Nagarjuna’s N-Convention Centre is allegedly built on 1.12 acres of the FTL area and an additional 2 acres within the buffer zone. Official sources estimate that Thammidikunta Lake’s FTL area covers approximately 29.24 acres. Despite being under scrutiny for several years, GHMC had not taken action against the property, and it is alleged that the centre’s management used its influence to evade regulatory measures.
Komatireddy Venkat Reddy, Telangana’s Minister of Roads and Buildings, filed an official complaint with HYDRA on Wednesday. He included both the FTL map highlighting the encroachment and a Google Earth map in his complaint.
Following the demolition, Nagarjuna took to the social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter), asserting that the land is Patta land and that no part of the tank plan was encroached upon. He added, “As a law-abiding citizen, if the Court before which the matter is pending, had decided against me, I would have carried out the demolition myself.” Nagarjuna also claimed that he had not received any notice prior to the morning demolition.
The Congress government recently established HYDRA for the Telangana Core Urban Region (TCUR) to manage disasters, protect assets, and perform other functions. HYDRA is tasked with managing and protecting government assets, including parks, open spaces, playgrounds, and lakes. Led by IPS officer AV Ranganath, HYDRA has been demolishing illegal structures to reclaim land from encroached water bodies. Earlier this month, the unit demolished unauthorized constructions around the heritage lake Bum-Rukn-Ud-Dowla in Shastripuram and near the Gandipet reservoir in the Rangareddy district.
