HYDRAA Reclaims 106 Acres of Government Land Near Ammuguda

On Saturday, July 18, 2026, the Hyderabad Disaster Response and Asset Protection Agency (HYDRAA) secured and began fencing off 106 acres of encroached government land near Ammuguda in the Gandhi Nagar Basti area of Hyderabad. The action successfully reclaimed defence-allotted land containing billions-of-years-old rock formations that had been occupied and damaged by a builder.

Local residents of Gandhi Nagar Basti celebrated the action by bursting crackers. The enforcement drive follows a period of tension after the Society to Save Rocks, acting as a whistleblower, exposed the destruction of the ancient rock formations. Despite facing legal notices and pressure from the builder, the society pursued the matter with HYDRAA.

The builder had claimed private ownership of the land under survey numbers 1 and 2 in Lothukunta village, presenting a High Court order. However, a joint field-level inquiry by HYDRAA, the Revenue Department, and the Cantonment Board using satellite maps and geo-coordinates revealed that the builder’s documents were manufactured.

HYDRAA Chief A.V. Ranganath stated that the survey boundaries presented by the builder were located three kilometers away. Furthermore, officials discovered that Lothukunta village does not contain survey numbers 1 or 2. The builder's building permission, obtained in 2008, had also lapsed.

According to official records, the land is designated as General Land Register (GLR) 243, which identifies it as government land allotted to the Defence sector. HYDRAA also identified and began fencing an adjacent encroached GLR property, numbered 255. Together, these two parcels make up the 106 acres reclaimed at Ammuguda.

Mr. Ranganath also noted that the builder had carried out rock blasting without the necessary permissions from the Mining Department, which disrupted local wildlife on the hillocks.

The operation at Ammuguda was part of a larger single-day drive by HYDRAA on Saturday, which reclaimed a total of 840 acres of government land across the city. This included 84 acres in Raidurgam and 650 acres in Bahadurguda village of Shamshabad mandal.