HYDRAA Fences 840 Acres of Government Land in Hyderabad, Sparking Protests from Farmers

Hyderabad Disaster Response and Asset Protection Agency (HYDRAA) conducted a major city-wide operation on Saturday, July 18 and fenced 840 acre government land worth Rs 30,000 crore in three locations. Approximately 650 acre of land was fenced in Shamshabad , 84 acre land was fenced in Raidurgam and 106 acre of land was fenced in Secunderabad Cantonment. HYDRAA said that the 650 acre in survey numbers 25 and 26 in Bahadurguda village, Shamshabad, are registered as government land according to the 1954 Khasra Pahani. It fell into the hands of private individuals who built farmhouses there, the agency said. The 84 acre in Raidurgam , Serilingampally, were encroached upon by people who allegedly extended into the government land from an adjoining half-acre private patta land. The encroachers then sold the land as square-yard plots. In the 106-acre land located in General Land Register Numbers 243 and 255 of the Secunderabad Cantonment , encroachers had been carrying out mining activities and disturbing wildlife. The land was fenced following complaints from locals. Farmers held a protest on Saturday against authorities fencing the land parcel at Bahadurguda in Shamshabad and allegedly threw stones and chilli powder at policemen, sources told PTI. The land parcel has been identified for setting up a high-speed train hub. No police official was injured, though the chilli powder thrown by women protesters fell on the clothes of two policemen. Chevella Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Yogesh Gautam had to wash his face and eyes with water after chilli powder was thrown. Some of the protesters, including political activists, were taken into custody during the protest, and they would be released later in the day, the DCP said. The farmers were protesting against officials of the revenue department and Hyderabad Disaster Response and Asset Protection Agency (HYDRAA) fencing the land parcel of 650 acres. The protesters held dharna since Saturday morning against the authorities fencing the land. As they jostled with security personnel, a farmer allegedly fainted. Some of the protesters maintained that though they lacked ownership titles for the land, they had been cultivating it for many years and were dependent on it for their livelihood. A revenue department official told PTI that the land parcel belongs to the government. The protesters have an “unapproved map” showing land survey numbers, but it was not recognised by the government, he said. The Centre has recently announced high-speed trains between Hyderabad and Pune, Hyderabad and Chennai and Hyderabad and Bengaluru. Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy had earlier said the state government would allocate land for the hub of high-speed trains at Shamshabad.