HYDRAA secures Mushkin Cheruvu land worth Rs 5,500 crore.
Lake protection drive begins across Puppalaguda and Narsingi.
Hyderabad — Early on Saturday, HYDRAA launched a large‑scale operation at Mushkin Cheruvu, a small but strategically important waterbody in Puppalaguda and Narsingi villages of Gandipet mandal, Rangareddy district. The agency moved to fence the lake’s Full Tank Level (FTL) boundary, remove an embankment bisecting the water, and secure government land that activists say has faced creeping encroachment.
On paper, Mushkin Cheruvu is modest: official HMDA records list the FTL at 52.20 acres, while village records show the lake’s total extent at 59.11 acres. The site includes several survey parcels — Survey No. 259 alone accounts for 20.23 acres of government land, with additional lake area spread across Survey Nos. 258 (13.34 acres), 260 (8.19 acres) and 376 (12.80 acres). Local officials estimate the land under protection at roughly Rs 5,500 crore, underscoring the financial as well as environmental stakes.
HYDRAA teams spent the morning installing fencing around the entire 52.20‑acre FTL area, a visible signal that authorities intend to draw a firm line around the waterbody. Workers also began dismantling an embankment that had been constructed through the middle of the lake — a structure residents and environmentalists have long argued disrupted natural water flow.
Agency officials said the operation targeted a pattern of encroachments and questionable “development” activities carried out under the guise of lake improvement. They identified roughly 34.21 acres where development works had been attempted, including projects reportedly undertaken by a construction company using corporate social responsibility (CSR) funds.
The action also addressed the human dimension of the site. Notices had been served to occupants living in huts within the FTL and adjacent government land, and officials said they were given adequate time to vacate. HYDRAA personnel confirmed that the occupants had subsequently left the site before the operation began, avoiding any forcible evictions during the enforcement drive.
For local residents who have watched the lake shrink over years of pressure from real estate and informal land use, Saturday’s operation was a long‑awaited assertion of public interest. “We used to come here with our children,” said a middle‑aged woman from Puppalaguda. It felt like the lake was being stolen. Today felt like it was being returned.” Farmers and older residents highlighted not just recreation but livelihoods: the lake recharges groundwater and supports nearby wells during dry months.
Environmental activists welcomed the move, but also urged sustained action beyond fencing. “Fencing is important to prevent fresh encroachments, but protecting a lake requires long‑term monitoring, pollution checks and ecological restoration,” said a local conservationist. He called for measures to desilt the bed, restore native vegetation on the catchment, and create community‑run watch groups to prevent reoccupation.
HYDRAA officials said the fencing will help preserve the FTL boundary and prevent further loss of public land. They also emphasized that removing the embankment was necessary to restore the lake’s hydrology and enable better water spread during the monsoon.
The financial valuation attached to the protected land — around Rs 5,500 crore — has drawn attention from media and civic commentators, but it also laid bare a tension between development pressures and public commons. As Hyderabad’s suburbs expand, small waterbodies like Mushkin Cheruvu face constant pressure from land conversion, informal settlements and infrastructure projects that fragment watersheds.
Saturday’s operation should be measured not just by the fencing erected or embankment removed, but by what follows: how effectively authorities convert a one‑day enforcement action into consistent stewardship. For residents who welcomed the move, the hope is that this will mark the start of a sustained recovery for a lake whose quiet presence once helped shape daily life.
As HYDRAA crews finished the day’s work, villagers lingered at the edge of the newly fenced area, watching machinery and workers. The scene underscored the paradox of urban conservation: reclaiming small pockets of nature often requires both administrative force and community commitment. If both are sustained, Mushkin Cheruvu may yet return to being a living, shared resource rather than a parcel on a map.