Hyderabad: Former minister and BRS deputy floor leader T Harish Rao on Monday, March 2, accused the Congress government in Telangana of turning a blind eye to alleged illegal mining and irregular land allotments, claiming that hills were being excavated without mandatory permissions in Rajendranagar.
Addressing the media, Rao alleged that Raghava Constructions, a firm he said is linked to minister Ponguleti Srinivasa Reddy, has been carrying out quarrying activities in the Manasa Hills area of Rajendranagar mandal near the Outer Ring Road without statutory clearances.
He claimed that heavy machinery was being used around the clock to excavate and transport stone and concrete material, resulting in large-scale removal of hill formations.
Claims of missing clearances
Rao contended that the firm did not have the required approvals, such as Consent for Establishment and Consent for Operation from the Telangana State Pollution Control Board (TGPCB), environmental clearance, mining or quarrying lease permissions from the Mines and Geology Department, land-use conversion and HMDA clearances, local panchayat or municipal permissions, explosives licence, groundwater usage approvals and revenue permissions.
He questioned why departments, including Revenue, Mines and Geology, the Pollution Control Board and HMDA, were allegedly not acting despite what he described as visible violations.
He further alleged that excavation and transportation activities were being carried out continuously, asking whether separate rules applied to ministers and their associates compared to ordinary citizens.
Allegations over 17 acres of government land
The BRS leader also alleged that 17 acres of government land had been allotted without open bidding to individuals he described as associates of chief minister A Revanth Reddy’s son-in-law.
He demanded that the allotment be immediately cancelled and that a transparent, open bidding process be conducted, alleging that the absence of competitive bidding was causing financial loss to the state exchequer.
Rao accused the government of adopting double standards, claiming that while homes of the poor were being demolished in the name of enforcement, alleged violations involving influential individuals were being ignored.
Questions over HYDRAA’s role
Referring to the Hyderabad Disaster Response and Asset Protection Agency (HYDRAA), Rao questioned why the agency acts against alleged encroachments by ordinary citizens but, according to him, has not intervened in the alleged quarrying activity.
He demanded immediate closure of the quarry, recovery of extracted natural resources with penalties, and a comprehensive probe.
