Hyderabad: Expressing serious concerns over unbridled urbanisation around Hyderabad’s crucial water bodies, Telangana high court Wednesday sought an explanation from senior officials within four weeks on how large-scale constructions—particularly convention halls—were being allowed within the eco-sensitive catchment areas of Osman Sagar and Himayat Sagar, despite explicit prohibitory orders under GO 111.
The court issued notices to the state govt, irrigation and municipal administration departments and Pollution Control Board. A bench, comprising acting Chief Justice Sujoy Paul and Justice Renuka Yara, also issued notices to the owners of five such convention centres, seeking their responses to the allegations made against their structures.
GO 111 prohibits any concrete construction activity within a 10-kilometre radius of the twin reservoirs, an area officially notified as a bio-conservation zone to protect the water bodies and surrounding environment.
The bench was hearing a PIL filed by Mandadi Madhava Reddy from Moinabad mandal in Rangareddy district. The petitioner questioned the inaction of the state machinery in preventing the emergence of large-scale constructions within the prohibited zone, arguing that such developments violate the provisions of GO 111 and pose a significant threat to the environment.
Petitioner’s counsel, P Sasidhar Reddy, submitted to the court that five large convention centres had already come up in Janwada within Moinabad mandal, along with several others, in areas falling under GO 111 restrictions.
He pointed out that each convention hall can accommodate up to 5,000 people, generating vast amounts of waste and sewage, which ultimately find their way into the twin lakes. The influx of large crowds and vehicular traffic, he argued, would increase air and water pollution and worsen traffic congestion in the area.
The counsel further highlighted that these structures, along with their massive compound walls, have replaced significant green cover with concrete, disrupting the natural flow of water and contributing to ecological degradation.
He also criticised the govt for its alleged failure in enforcing environmental norms, claiming that even HYDRAA, the specialised agency created to protect the lakes, has been unable to curb the construction activity within the bio-conservation zone.