BJP, BRS welcome HC ordering removal of HYDRAA Commissioner

The opposition BJP and BRS on Monday welcomed the High Court order removing HYDRAA Commissioner A V Ranganath from his post.

Congress Lok Sabha member Chamala Kiran Kumar Reddy, however, said HYDRAA has safeguarded public assets worth Rs 1.50 lakh crore.

Terming the court's verdict as a "slap in the face of the Congress government", state BJP president N Ramchander Rao demanded that the Hyderabad Disaster Response and Asset Protection Agency (HYDRAA) be dismantled.

HYDRAA, in the guise of removing illegal constructions, has spread terror among the general public and farmers, he alleged.

Rao said the BJP has maintained that HYDRAA, introduced by the Congress government, should never act against the poor and small farmers.

BRS MLC Sravan Dasoju said the "High Court’s heat" should not end with the HYDRAA Commissioner.

Referring to Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy's remarks in June that he drew inspiration from Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler while naming HYDRAA, Dasoju asked who is really pulling the strings.

"Ranganath IPS was merely executing executive policy. The CM’s blatant disregard for constitutional norms and the rule of law shows where the real contempt lies," he said in a post on X.

He asked whether the state Chief Secretary will obey the High Court and relieve the HYDRAA Commissioner or will he follow Reddy's directive and defend the "bulldozer policy" in the Supreme Court (if the state government appeals against the High Court's order).

Kiran Kumar Reddy said lakes and drainage systems, residential layouts and even roads in Hyderabad have been encroached upon during the last several decades in the city.

The real estate mafia encroached lands at will in Hyderabad and sold off the lands to the poor, he said. Observing that Ranganath has worked without coming under any political pressure and acted upon people's complaints within 24 hours, Kiran Kumar Reddy said people, NGOs and social activists should speak the truth on the issue.

The Telangana High Court on Monday ordered the replacement of HYDRAA Commissioner A V Ranganath, rejecting an apology offered by him over a matter of contempt of court.

The court urged the state government's Chief Secretary to find a suitable replacement for the officer as early as possible.