Expressing dissatisfaction over the response of officials in protection of Ramanthapur Peddacheruvu (tank) in Hyderabad, Telangana High Court on Tuesday instructed Municipal Administration and Urban Development Secretary to file an affidavit on the steps taken to preserve the water body.
A bench of Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice N.V. Shravan Kumar, hearing a writ petition filed in 2005 over protection of water bodies in and around Hyderabad in general and Ramanthapur tank in specific, directed that the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) be impleaded as respondent in the petition. A notice should be sent to HMDA by email, the bench ordered.
The bench directed GHMC Commissioner and IAS officer Ronald Rose, who appeared before the bench on Tuesday following instruction from the bench during the previous hearing, to appear personally again on Thursday in the matter. Mr. Rose informed the court that GHMC had completed demarcation of Ramanthapur water body’s Full Tank Level (FTL). But it was the HMDA which had to notify the FTL, he told the court.
