KTR’s ‘Landlord’ Builds Tower In Hussainsagar

Official sources said the project, comprising two 17-storey towers, had been granted approvals during the BRS regime between 2018 and 2020, even though the site had no construction-permissible land.

The findings have revived political debate over an alleged link between the project approvals and the Janwada farmhouse, where BRS working president and then minister K.T. Rama Rao used to stay, and whose ownership was claimed by Badvelu Pradeep Reddy, the proprietor of Pradeep Constructions, before the National Green Tribunal (NGT).

The issue assumes political significance as Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy, while in the Opposition as a Congress MP, was arrested in March 2020 by the Cyberabad police for allegedly trying to illegally film the farmhouse in Janwada using a drone and for accusing Rama Rao of being the owner of the property.

Official sources said Pradeep Reddy had informed the NGT that he owned the Janwada farmhouse property situated in Survey No. 311, spread over 3.3 acres, along with a farmhouse constructed on 1,210 square yards, having purchased it through registered sale deeds. Court records also reflected that the property stood in his name. The developments have fuelled allegations of a possible link between the Janwada land and the approvals granted to the Somajiguda project and sparked demand for an investigation into whether special permissions were granted in return for benefits related to the farmhouse.

The project, located on Lok Bhavan Road in Somajiguda, covers an extent of 7,640.89 square metres. During the joint inspection, GHMC, HYDRAA and irrigation department officials found that 7,355.15 square metres of the land fall within the Hussainsagar FTL while the remaining 285.74 square metres lie within the mandatory 30-metre buffer zone.

The inspection report concluded that not a single square metre of the project site was legally fit for construction. Despite this, permissions had been granted for two cellar levels, a stilt floor, two 17-storey towers and a clubhouse.

The findings have raised serious questions within official circles over how such a large-scale project in a high-visibility area in the centre of the city received approvals despite the absence of any buildable area. Officials are also examining who facilitated the permissions, whether any pressure was exerted on authorities and why statutory norms governing lake protection were allegedly ignored.

The inspection further revealed that the land was classified in Town Survey records as "vacant land submerged under a lake". Officials stated that no no-objection certificate (NOC) had been issued by the Hyderabad district collector for the project and no clearance had been obtained from the irrigation department. Nevertheless, the first building permission was granted on December 14, 2018, followed by revised approvals on January 2, 2020, reportedly without obtaining mandatory clearances from the concerned departments.
The developments have intensified scrutiny over the role of the municipal administration and urban development minister, then headed by Rama Rao, with allegations surfacing that Pradeep Constructions was the only private developer to receive such permissions within the Hussainsagar FTL after the formation of Telangana.

Critics contend that granting approvals for a massive private project within a protected lake area could not have been an ordinary administrative decision and have demanded answers on who influenced the decision-making process and whether officials were pressured to overlook statutory regulations.

Political circles have also renewed allegations that permissions for the Hussain Sagar project may have been linked to benefits associated with the Janwada farmhouse. Demands have surfaced for a comprehensive probe into the Janwada land transactions, the approval process for the Somajiguda project, departmental file notings and any directions issued at the ministerial level to establish whether there was any irregularity or quid pro quo.
Meanwhile, official reports have concluded that the developer secured building permissions by allegedly furnishing incorrect information and suppressing crucial facts. Based on these findings, the GHMC has issued a show-cause notice proposing cancellation of the building permissions granted in 2018 and 2020.

Officials also confirmed that no occupancy certificate has been issued for the project so far. With the project now facing possible cancellation of approvals, the confirmation that the entire site falls within the FTL and buffer zone, coupled with the absence of mandatory NOCs, has further raised questions over the decisions taken during the previous BRS regime.

The Janwada farmhouse and the land surrounding it had encroached on about 14 guntas of the Balkapur nala. A joint inspection by the irrigation and revenue departments in August 2024 reportedly submitted a report to the government stating that the farmhouse in Shankarpally mandal in Rangareddy district had a compound wall and a gate on the nala.

They reportedly informed the government that 2.24 guntas of the farmhouse was on the nala bed and another 11 guntas in the buffer zone of Survey No. 313, where a compound wall was raised. A road has also been laid on the nala portion, due to which the nala size has shrunk.

It was supposed to be roughly 25 metres wide, but had been reduced to six to eight metres in some areas. Though the farmhouse is far from the full tank level of Osmansagar, it is illegal and does not have any permissions.

The land where permission was granted for high-rises was classified as "vacant land submerged under a lake".

No NOC was issued by the Hyderabad district collector for the project. No clearance had been obtained from the irrigation department. GHMC has not issued an occupancy certificate.

Official reports claim the developer secured building permissions by allegedly suppressing crucial facts.

The GHMC has issued a show-cause notice proposing cancellation of the building permissions granted in 2018 and 2020.