Telangana State Govt. says according to its new plans, real-estate developers & builders in Hyderabad will have to take care of & maintain lakes or water bodies which lie within 500m radius of their planned project layouts. This means the state govt. plans to ensure protection of water bodies by holding developers & builders accountable for these water bodies here onwards. Developers failing to do so will be held responsible for offences and may face charges against them. Presently, there are more than three thousand lakes & small water bodies within Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) limits.
This new regulation will be made mandatory and only builders/developers adhering to this will be granted permission for construction activity or real-estate projects in the area under HMDA. This decision was taken during a review meeting conducted by K.T. Rama Rao (KTR), the Municipal Minister with officials from municipal development authorities. KTR instructed officials of HMDA & GHMC present at the meeting to involve developers and include the responsibility of water body conservation & increasing greenery around their ventures as their duty. The municipal administration will also work on getting all real-estate property owners, developers and developers’ associations to protect the water bodies of Hyderabad.
Special Chief Secretary (municipal administration) Arvind Kumar was quoted saying “The (municipal) minister advised that CREDAI as well as builders with projects adjacent to lakes should be asked to maintain them as it leads to improvement of ambience too.” The full-tank level (FTL) of a few lakes in HMDA limits was decided and protection of these lakes has started by setting up fences around the lakes to prevent encroachment. Many other lakes that fall under HMDA area need to be assessed by revenue & irrigation departments and their FTLs must be marked to ensure conservation of these lakes.
The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) meanwhile has taken up the task of beautification in a phased manner. GHMC officials believe beautification & cleansing of water bodies will ensure their conservation while also improving the hygiene of surrounding areas. According to HMDA officials, these new norms regarding maintenance of water bodies by builders/developers will be applicable to all types of constructions, structures, projects & developments including permissions for project layouts, multi-storied buildings, gated communities & commercial buildings.
GHMC & HMDA officials noted that many projects were illegally leaving waste/sewerage water into nearby lakes & water bodies, appropriate measures to prevent this illegal dumping and action against offending parties will be taken. Project developers & builders will be asked to build walkways, improve greenery and take up beautification of their surroundings to improve water quality in nearby water bodies.
