Lake caught in proprietary tangle

SCB and govt.’s move to protect Ramanakunta Cheruvu hits dead end

Residents of Soujanya Colony in Bapuji Nagar have spent many a monsoon gazing at it and with every passing year the lake they once adored, turned a menace, caught helplessly in a tangle of proprietorship between the Indian Army, Secunderabad Cantonment and the State.

“It used to be a lake that we once swam in and had our animals drink from. Now, its proximity is not tolerable,” said Laxma Reddy, the colony’s president. Mr. Reddy added that all with authority involved, from Parliamentarian to the Secunderabad Cantonment Board’s (SCB) Chief Executive Officer, have promised betterment of the lake.

Though the seven-acre Ramanakunta Cheruvu has for long been an eyesore now and a public health concern, only recently did the SCB and the State government push for its restoration.

During a board meeting few months ago, SCB elected members conveyed to rest of the board, comprising representatives of the Local Military Authority (LMA), the State’s plan to induct the lake into Mission Kakatiya. They argued that the sewage filled lake floods surrounding areas and sources disease causing mosquitoes.

Though reservations about the move was raised during that meeting, given that the lake rests on land categorized as ‘A1’ earmarked for defence, it was resolved then that a proposal to divert sewerage would be considered.

Now it transpires that the Army has written to the SCB to not take up the lake’s revival. A survey initiated by SCB’s engineering wing was consequently halted, though the lake’s revival received part financial support from the State government. SCB’s concern that the Army may object to work if it is allowed to proceed, has for now halted progress.

The ward members, pressured by their electors, remain hopeful that a proposal acceptable to the Army would help swing the matter in the interest of public health. “It has been told to us that expertise of an outside agency is required for a task of this kind. We are working on drawing up a plan that would be acceptable to all,” said J. Maheshwar Reddy, elected member ward 1.

Ward members and people also wonder why the State Pollution Control Board refrains from stepping in to ensure that the water body is protected from pollution. Repeated efforts to reach army officials for comment proved unsuccessful.

It has been told to us that expertise of an outside agency is required for a task of this kind and we are working on a plan

J. Maheshwar Reddy,Elected member, Ward 1