Telangana chief minister A Revanth Reddy on Tuesday asserted that the executive has the authority to appoint an officer to any post, including the commissioner of Hyderabad Disaster Response and Asset Protection Agency (HYDRAA), while reacting to the state high court’s direction to remove senior IPS officer A V Ranganath from the position over alleged contempt of court.
Revanth Reddy said the state government had “complete clarity” regarding HYDRAA’s functioning and that it would study the high court’s judgment before deciding the next course of action.
“The government has the discretion to appoint an officer to any post, including HYDRAA. We will study the high court’s judgment carefully and then decide the next course of action,” the chief minister told reporters in New Delhi.
Strongly defending HYDRAA’s functioning, Revanth Reddy said the government remained committed to strengthening the anti-encroachment body despite the court’s direction to remove Ranganath.
He alleged that land grabbers were misleading courts by producing fabricated documents and running misinformation campaigns against HYDRAA.
“HYDRAA is one of the biggest reforms introduced by our government, and we will strengthen it further. Its operations will continue without interruption,” he said.
The chief minister said HYDRAA was created to protect lakes, ponds, water channels and other public properties from illegal encroachments. He maintained that the agency had acted strictly within its mandate and questioned criticism of its demolition drives.
{{/usCountry}}The chief minister said HYDRAA was created to protect lakes, ponds, water channels and other public properties from illegal encroachments. He maintained that the agency had acted strictly within its mandate and questioned criticism of its demolition drives.
{{/usCountry}}Referring to recent anti-encroachment operations, Revanth Reddy cited the protection of Bathukamma Kunta and alleged that a senior Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leader had encroached upon 10 acres of the water body.
He also defended the demolition of structures allegedly built on encroached lands, questioning the opposition’s criticism by referring to the demolition of the N-Convention building and constructions on Gandipet lake.
“Was N-Convention owned by the poor? Were the structures built on Gandipet lake encroachments by poor people?” he asked, arguing that HYDRAA’s actions targeted illegal occupation of public land irrespective of the status of encroachers.
Revanth Reddy alleged that vested interests were spending money to spread misinformation about HYDRAA through social media to protect encroachers. He accused alleged encroachers of filing cases with malicious intent and misleading courts through forged documents.
“We will fight such false cases in the courts,” he said, adding that the government would continue to defend HYDRAA’s actions through legal means.
The chief minister also referred to former chief secretary Somesh Kumar, stating that more than 400 contempt of court cases had been filed against the retired IAS officer, suggesting that such proceedings were not unprecedented.
The remarks came a day after the high court expressed serious dissatisfaction with the conduct of HYDRAA commissioner A V Ranganath while hearing the Lothkunta land dispute case.
The court directed chief secretary Sanjay Jaju to remove Ranganath from the post, observing that it was inappropriate for a senior officer of secretary rank to disregard judicial orders and emphasising that respect for court directions was essential to the rule of law.
The bench advised the government to appoint a qualified officer as HYDRAA commissioner, observing that allowing Ranganath to continue would undermine the rule of law. It concluded that his removal was the appropriate course of action under the circumstances.