In 1912, the nightingale of India, Sarojini Naidu, wrote a poem titled “The Hussain Sagar”, in which she described the river, Hussainsagar, as a “living image of her soul”. The poetess grew up in Hyderabad and was so enticed by the beauty of the lake that she chose to commemorate it in her work.
Built in the 16th century by Ibrahim Quli Qutb Shah, Hussainsagar was one of the main sources of drinking water in Hyderabad before Himayatsagar and Osmansagar rivers were built.
It’s unfortunate that heritage sites that were once celebrated in poems and popular culture are now grim reminders of rapid urbanisation and pollution.
While the state is constitutionally obligated to protect and improve natural resources under Article 48(A), it has routinely failed to do so. As a result, our rivers are filled with untreated sewage and garbage.
Between 2013–18, the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) allocated ₹287 crore towards the protection and beautification of lakes, out of which only ₹42 crore were used.
Revoking GO 111
Perhaps, for the first time, the government of Telangana has made its stance on conservation abundantly clear by expressing its intent to repeal government order 111.
Issued in 1996 by the then-Andhra Pradesh government, it was made to protect the catchment areas of the Osmansagar and Himayatsagar rivers.
It was an important document because it prohibited polluting industries, major hotels, residential colonies and large-scale construction activities in the catchment area of the lakes up to 10 kms from full tank level.
To put this in perspective, GO (Government Order) 111 is applicable to 1.32 lakh acres of land in 84 villages and mandals with proximity to Hyderabad, such as Shamshabad, Rajendranagar, Moinabad, Chevella, Shabad, etc.
While development in these residential areas is permitted, it is curtailed by this GO that mandates 60% open space to be maintained in the area covered under the order.
The Arguments Used Against It
Here are some of the arguments presented by the government of Telangana in favour of repealing the order and why they are flawed:
According to the Chief Minister, the city no longer depends on the twin lakes (Osman Sagar and Himayatsagar) for drinking water. The government is now able to draw water from the massive Krishna and Godavari rivers.
This is partly true since the official government records show that the twin lakes are no longer sources of water for the city.
The twin lakes have a combined water holding capacity of some 4 Thousand Million Cubic (TMC) feet and usually requires a period of 3 years of good rains to reach full tank level. But this did not happen in the last 2 years despite heavy rainfall in the city.
This is due to the existing damage in the catchment area of the rivers and the broken drainage system. The government’s negligence and short-sightedness are responsible for the “redundancy” of the lakes.
Furthermore, the government’s reliance on the availability of water from the Godavari and Krishna rivers is not backed by evidence, given that water from these rivers flows in multiple states.
Similarly, claims that the capital city has an abundant water supply from projects like Sunkishala Intake Project and Mallana Sagar and that Hyderabad may not face any water woes for the next 100 years do not justify why the GOs need to be revoked.
On the contrary, a report released by the Government of India in 2020 pointed out that summertime monsoon rainfall that usually happens in the months of June to September has declined by 6% from 1951 to 2015, with notable decreases over the Gangetic plains and western Ghats.
The Western Ghats are the primary water source for the Krishna and Godavari rivers. Hence, the government fails to see how the adverse impact of climate change can factor into the changing monsoon patterns, thus, affecting the water supply in the city.
The KCR (Kalvakuntla Chandrashekar Rao) government has been stressing the “demand” from locals and realtors to scrap GO 111 to reap the benefits of the growing real estate boom in the city.
In 2016, the Rangareddy collector had informed the National Green Tribunal (NGT) that about 12,500 illegal constructions and 400 illegal layouts had been identified. This points to the fact that GO 111 has not been very successful in preventing illegal construction.
There are widespread reports of politicians, media tycoons and educationalists digging trenches and borewells in the catchment area to serve water needs in their playgrounds, business establishments, etc.
Opposition Congress MP Revanth Reddy even filed a case with the NGT against KCRs son, IT Minister KT Rama Rao, alleging that Rao’s farmhouse in Shankarpally Mandal in Rangareddy district was in violation of GO 111.
Clearly, the self-interests of politicians and real estate lobbying are at play when the government talks about development.
What Is At Stake If The Order Is Repealed?
Scrapping of the GO would negatively impact the biodiversity and wildlife that has flourished in Osmansagar and Himayatsagar for a century.
Both the rivers are home to several migratory birds like flamingos that use the lakes as their wintering grounds. Unique bird species such as lesser floricans, listed as a highly protected species under Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972, are found around Osmansagar.
Mrugavani park is a national park and a wildlife sanctuary whose economic sensitive zone or ESZ falls within the purview of GO 111.
With the revoking of GO 111, the fate of flora and fauna in the Mrugavani National Park, already under pressure from construction activities, will get worse as there will be a major spurt in real estate activity.
It will put yet another national park under threat of pollution and will face the adverse effects of urbanisation, environmentalists warn.
If the GO is scrapped by the state legislature, there will be legal barriers to actually enforcing the decision.
In 2001, when an industrial unit approached the top court to operate within 10 km of the catchment area, the top court had upheld GO 111. It restricted any construction activities which could pollute the lake, pointing out that even a single such industry could be unsafe for the water bodies.
This verdict has not been challenged so far.
Lastly, it is economically favourable for the government to use drinking water from Himayatsagar and Osmansagar given that they are “gravity reservoirs”. This means that they supply drinking water without money spent on pumping them.
Water from these reservoirs naturally flows into Asifnagar and Mir Alam filter beds. This is not the case with Krishna and Godavari rivers, where the government spends money per kilo litre to pump water.
If the GO is repealed in the next assembly session, the consequences will be adverse. The groundwater supply will decline, chances of flooding will increase (Osmansagar and Himayatsagar were constructed for flood-control purposes) and concretisation will increase the temperature in the city.
Most importantly, repealing GO 111 takes away the right of the majority of citizens who rely on groundwater to access drinking water.
The need of the hour is for the government to strengthen GO 111, restore the twin lakes to their original capacities and remove existing encroachments in the catchment areas. It’s high time to prioritise conservation of the environment over politics of greed served to us as “development”.