Actor Nagarjuna’s convention hall on ‘encroached land’ razed
The convention centre has been under the scanner of the state government, as it allegedly came up on 3.2 acres of land falling under the FTL Thammidi Kunta lake and its surrounding buffer zone
Officials of the Hyderabad Disaster Response and Assets Monitoring and Protection (HYDRAA), an exclusive wing created by the Telangana government last month to remove encroachments on government land and water bodies, demolished the popular N Convention Centre in Madhapur, owned by popular Telugu actor Akkineni Nagarjuna.
The convention centre, which hosted several celebrity weddings, has been under the scanner of the state government, as it allegedly came up on 3.2 acres of land falling under the full tank level (FTL) Thammidi Kunta lake and its surrounding buffer zone.
Acting on a complaint lodged by state roads and buildings minister Komatireddy Venkat Reddy on August 21, HYDRAA authorities swooped on the convention hall early in the morning and began demolishing the structures abutting the lake. The Cyberabad police cordoned off the entire area to prevent any interruptions.
“The N- Convention Centre is located on the east side of Thammidi Kunta lake, which is a clear encroachment. It is also represented that this structure is built within the FTL area, protected by a raised retaining wall towards the tank water side. This structure was constructed by raising the original ground level, thereby reducing the water spread area of the lake,” the minister said.
The alleged illegal construction of N Convention Centre in 2015 was raised several times in the state assembly during the previous Bharat Rashtra Samithi regime. Then Congress MLA and present chief minister A Revanth Reddy challenged the then government to demolish it, as it was an illegal structure, but no action was taken.
{{/usCountry}}The alleged illegal construction of N Convention Centre in 2015 was raised several times in the state assembly during the previous Bharat Rashtra Samithi regime. Then Congress MLA and present chief minister A Revanth Reddy challenged the then government to demolish it, as it was an illegal structure, but no action was taken.
{{/usCountry}}Nagarjuna took to X to express his anguish over the demolition of the N-Convention Centre. “I am very much pained by the unlawful manner of demolition carried out in respect of N Convention, contrary to existing stay orders and court cases,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}Nagarjuna took to X to express his anguish over the demolition of the N-Convention Centre. “I am very much pained by the unlawful manner of demolition carried out in respect of N Convention, contrary to existing stay orders and court cases,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}He said he had not done anything in violation of the law. Nagarjuna said the land on which the convention centre was built was patta land (land with a clear title).
{{/usCountry}}He said he had not done anything in violation of the law. Nagarjuna said the land on which the convention centre was built was patta land (land with a clear title).
{{/usCountry}}“Not even an inch of tank plan was encroached. In respect of the building constructed inside the private land, there is a stay order granted against any earlier illegal notice for demolition,” he said.
“Today clearly, the demolition was carried out wrongfully based on misinformation. No notice was issued prior to carrying out the demolition this morning. As a law-abiding citizen, if the court before which the matter is pending, had decided against me, I would have carried out the demolition myself,” he said.
Stating that he was placing the facts on record for the purpose of correcting any public misimpression about wrongful construction or encroachment by him, Nagarjuna said he would be seeking appropriate relief from the court.
HYDRAA commissioner and IPS officer AV Ranganath said N Convention was one of the unauthorised structures that were demolished by the HYDRAA team, along with those of Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation, town planning, irrigation and revenue departments on Saturday.
“N Convention Centre has been clearly manipulating the systems and continuing its commercial activity through the unauthorised structures built on 1.12 acres of FTL of Tammidikunta and 2.18 acres of buffer zone of the lake. The GHMC has not given any building permission to the convention centre,” he said.
The HYDRAA was established by Telangana chief minister N Revanth Reddy under the leadership of Ranganath on July 12, 2024, under the National Disaster Management Act, to manage natural disasters and to protect government properties, curb encroachment of ponds and lakes and to get rid of illegal constructions and structures within the GHMC limit.
It works under the municipal administration and urban development department, which is presently under the control of the chief minister.
Within days of its establishment, the HYDRAA has been unleashing bulldozers on illegal constructions that have come up on government land, lake beds and buffer zones of the water bodies.
According to the figures available with the authorities, more than 50 illegal buildings that were constructed on FTL and buffer zone of water bodies have been demolished, including those falling under Osman Sagar limits, Chilkur, Erla Cheruvu at Chandanagar, Errakunta Cheruvu at Bachupalli, Devenderanagar at Gajularamaram and Bum-Rukn-ud-Dowla near Shivarampally.
Using bulldozers and heavy JCB vehicles, the HYDRAA enforcement team has also razed another 20 structures that came up on government land.
At some places, the HYDRAA authorities had to face stiff resistance from politicians, including the ruling Congress leaders. For example, on August 13, Congress MLA from Khairatabad Danam Nagender was booked for obstructing officials on duty when they were demolishing illegal huts that came up at Nandagiri Hills in Jubilee Hills.
“How can Ranganath demolish the structures of the poor people? If there are any illegal constructions on lakes and lake beds, he can order demolition, but not the houses of poor people. How can we ask for their votes in the coming GHMC elections? It appears Ranganath is not interested in continuing in his post for long,” Nagender said.
On August 10, AIMIM MLA from Karwan constituency Kausar Mohiuddin was detained by police when he tried to obstruct the demolition of illegal structures in the heritage lake of Bum-Rukn-Ud-Dowla in Shashtripuram near Rajendranagar. Similarly, another AIMIM MLA Mohammed Mubeen was kept under house arrest, when he tried to stop the demolition of unlawful constructions around the Nehr-e-Hussaini late.
Ranganath said he was given the mandate to remove all the unauthorised constructions in buffer zones and full tank levels. “Only unscrupulous elements are fearful but not honest dwellers. We have recovered 100 acres of land in 20 lakes,” he said.
Stating that the HYDRAA was going through with demolitions only after examining all documents, previous court orders and also ascertaining the extent of encroachments with the help of satellite images obtained from National Remote Sensing Agency (NRSA).
He said the HYDRAA has been allocated a budget of ₹200 crore to carry out its work and it will soon be setting up a police station to accelerate its activities.
The Opposition Bharat Rashtra Samithi accused the Revanth Reddy government of selective targeting of opposition leaders. BRS working president KT Rama Rao, whose farmhouse at Janwada on the outskirts of Hyderabad, is also under the scanner of HYDRAA, said he did not mind if illegal structures were demolished.
“But before unleashing on the people, the authorities should demolish the illegally built structures of Congress leaders. We shall provide addresses of all such buildings, farmhouses and resorts of the Congress MLAs, MPs and other leaders, along with satellite images. Let the government order their demolitions first,” KTR said.
