Tension prevailed in Raidurg Paigah village as officials from the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) and revenue department under police protection demolished multiple structures to clear the way for the construction of Unity Mall on 5.8 acres. The demolition drive led to fierce protests from affected families.
While the residents claim the land belonged to Hyderabad Tanneries, represented by Mohammed Mumtaz Ali Khan, the Telangana Leather Industrial Development Corporation (TLIDC) maintains that they hold the rights to 42 acres within the village, including the portion currently inhabited by a few families.
“The corporation holds sole ownership of the land and the families residing there have no legal claim to it. The demolition was executed in response to the mall owners’ request to clear the run-down buildings and other structures on the property so that they could begin construction. We had repeatedly notified the families to leave the premises prior to the demolition,” TLIDC vice chairman and MD Srinivas Naik said.
Naik pointed out they had agreed to lease out the 5.8 acres in the village in Serilingampally to Telangana Trade Promotion Corp oration for constructing the Unity Mall at a cost of over Rs 200 crore.
“A senior bureaucrat had presented a proposal to leave the property, which included a cash payment of Rs 50 crore and a one-acre plot in a different location. We, however, declined the offer, as the property has been in our possession for over nine decades, having been passed down from our great-grandparents.
The matter is currently pending in the high court, with a writ petition filed regarding the property. The same bureaucrat who made the offer allegedly threatened us, stating that he would disregard the property’s title and pressured us to retract the petition, warning of dire consequences if we failed to comply,” said a family part of Hyderabad Tanneries.
The residents said they were left in shock as they woke up to the sound of JCBs demolishing their homes at around 7 am.
“No prior notice was given before the demolition drive began. This demolition has left us and our young children stranded on the streets. We have all the necessary documents and are awaiting the final judgment from the court. In fact, upon entering the survey number in the Dharani portal, it shows the pattadar as Hyderabad Tanneries,” said Mohammed Taheer Ali Khan.
Backward classes and transport minister Ponnam Prabhakar on Monday said the govt will demolish all illegal structures in full tank level (FTL) areas in all the 33 districts. He added that NGOs and other civil society organisations with knowledge about these encroachments should bring it to the notice of the govt.
“The ongoing drive against encroachments by HYDRAA in Greater Hyderabad and its surroundings is earning a good name for the govt, with many sections of society standing in support of chief minister A Revanth Reddy,” he said.
The minister said that there was neither any vendetta nor was the encroachment drive by HYDRAA targeted at opposition parties’ properties.
