Hyderabad: Former minister T Harish Rao has alleged that the Hyderabad Disaster Response and Asset Protection Agency (HYDRAA), established to safeguard government assets and remove encroachments on land and lakes, is selectively targeting the poor while overlooking powerful individuals encroaching on water bodies.
Hundreds of farmers met the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leader at his residence, complaining of attacks by the real estate mafia and police harassment concerning the encroachment of 373 acres of government land at Kasubagh Kanch in Balapur mandal of Ranga Reddy district. The farmers submitted photographs and videos to Harish Rao showing razed fences, damaged agricultural borewells, and injuries suffered by farmers in the alleged attacks. After listening to their grievances, Harish Rao spoke to senior officials and urged strict action against the encroachers.
Harish Rao recalled that under the leadership of former Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao (KCR), the previous BRS government had fought a legal battle up to the high court under the Land Ceiling Act to prevent encroachments in Nadergul. He noted that the current Congress government also filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court asserting that the lands belong to the government. However, he alleged that a conspiracy is underway to hand over these lands to private individuals under the protection of Congress leaders.
