Hyderabad: In a major victory for Hyderabad Disaster Response Assets Monitoring and Protection (HYDRAA), the High Court has dismissed the petition of BRS leader Edla Sudhakar Reddy, who claimed that Bathuklamma Kunta land in Amberpet was his private property.

The High Court’s order delivered on Tuesday, January 7, gives the liberty to HYDRAA to carry on with its efforts to rejuvenate and beautify the Bathukamma Kunta, which has shrunk from 16.13 acres (including the buffer zone) in 1962 to a mere 5.15 acres presently.

Bathukamma Kunta, which was originally Errakunta, shrunk due to large-scale dumping of waste and construction debris dumped inside it over the years.

It can be recalled that acting upon former MP V Hanumantha Rao’s complaint to HYDRAA that Bathukamma Kunta was largely encroached upon, HYDRAA commissioner AV Ranganath visited the water body on November 13, and announced HYDRAA’s plans for rejuvenating Bathukamma Kunta.

However, on November 14, BRS leader and the party’s candidate from the Amberpet assembly constituency in the 2014 elections Edla Sudhakar Reddy obtained a stay from the High Court.

HYDRAA, Revenue, and Irrigation officials filed a counter in the High Court, and after listening to both sides, the bench comprising Justice CV Bhaskar Reddy dismissed Sudhakar Reddy’s petition, stating that he didn’t enjoy any rights for that land.

AV Ranganath felicitated the team of officials who collaborated and gathered evidence to prove that the land belonged to Bathukamma Kunta.

Presently, HYDRAA is only going to restore the water body and beautify the area around it to only an extent of 5.15 acres.

Ranganath directed his officials to ensure that lake restoration was done without causing inconvenience to the people living around it.