Reflecting the new focus on reclaiming public spaces, Hyderabad's urban bodies have carried out a series of demolitions.
Over the last few weeks, the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) and the Hyderabad Disaster Response and Asset Protection Agency (HYDRAA) have cleared hundreds of encroachments across the city, from congested market areas to high-value lakefront lands.
Recently, the GHMC undertook one of its largest single-day anti-encroachment drives, removing around 798 structures across multiple zones.
Officials said 340 were permanent constructions, while 458 were temporary setups, including roadside shops, kiosks, and extensions that had spilled onto footpaths and road margins. The operation spanned various regions, including Charminar, Khairatabad, Secunderabad, Rajendranagar, Shamshabad, and Golconda.
This time, the civic authorities focused on Old City, which was considered a difficult area for such drives. The demolition squads moved through busy commercial stretches, including Mahabub Chowk, Rikabgunj, Puranapul, Afzalgunj, areas around the Madina Building, and Aramgarh.
Shops built along the Musi River corridor and near bus stops were razed, as authorities sought to reclaim pedestrian pathways and ease traffic congestion.
The drive triggered immediate resistance. At Monda Market in Secunderabad, traders confronted officials, forcing a temporary suspension of operations.
In another incident along the Lad Bazar-Puranapool stretch, tensions escalated into clashes, and the police arrested the son of a former corporator for allegedly obstructing the demolition.
Traders and vendors across affected areas complained of inadequate notice and the loss of livelihood, arguing that many establishments had operated for decades. The GHMC officials, however, maintained that the demolitions were carried out in line with court directions to restore footpaths and ensure public access, adding that the campaign would continue in a phased, zone-wise manner.
The GHMC carried out these demolitions at the direction of the Telangana High Court. In February, the court dismissed petitions against demolition notices, observed that unchecked encroachments had forced pedestrians on roads, and stressed that clearing them must be a continuous process, rather than sporadic drives.
Parallelly, HYDRAA, a public assets protection agency, has targeted large parcels of land with significant market value, often involving illegal layouts or constructions in environmentally sensitive zones.
In Mailardevpally under Rajendranagar, HYDRAA has demolished five under-construction G+3 buildings and two smaller structures to reclaim 6,500 square yards of land earmarked as a playground in an approved layout.
In Balanagar’s Akshaya Enclave, nearly 968 square yards of park land were cleared after officials found evidence of forged permissions and illegal construction.
The agency’s most high-profile interventions have centred on water bodies.
Around the Mondikunta Lake in Madhapur and Khanamet, HYDRAA removed mechanic sheds, iron workshops, and other commercial structures spread across roughly 11 acres of the lake bed and the buffer zone land—estimated to be worth about Rs 2,200 crore.
The cleared area has since been fenced, with plans to develop it into a public park. At the Banjara Lake in the Banjara Hills, officials have identified widespread encroachments within the Full Tank Level area and have initiated steps to restore it, including proposed demolitions and the removal of waste-dumping sites.
In another major action, HYDRAA reclaimed 16 acres of land in the TNGO Colony, Serilingampally, valued at around Rs 3,200 crore.
The land included portions of a water body, green belt, and space reserved for a school: all of which had been encroached upon. The entire stretch has now been secured with fencing.
Overall, HYDRAA has reported that it reclaimed 87.83 acres of land in just the first two months of 2026, with an estimated value of Rs 10,804 crore. The agency has also entered 39 lake beds and cleared around 233 acres within FTL zones.
Yet, the scale and speed of these demolitions have sparked political and legal scrutiny. Critics have alleged selective targeting, while the Telangana High Court has, in some instances, cautioned authorities against procedural lapses and emphasised the need for due process.
