The Telangana High Court on Monday ordered the replacement of Hyderabad Disaster Response and Asset Protection Agency (HYDRAA) Commissioner A V Ranganath after rejecting an apology offered by him in a contempt of court matter.
The court urged the state government’s Chief Secretary to find a suitable replacement for the officer at the earliest.
The order drew contrasting political reactions, with the opposition BJP and BRS welcoming it, while Congress Lok Sabha member Chamala Kiran Kumar Reddy defended the Hyderabad Disaster Response and Asset Protection Agency, saying it has protected public assets worth Rs 1.50 lakh crore.
Calling the verdict a “slap in the face of the Congress government”, Telangana BJP president N Ramchander Rao demanded that HYDRAA be dismantled.
He alleged that, in the guise of removing illegal constructions, the agency had spread fear among the public and farmers.
Rao said the BJP has maintained that HYDRAA, set up by the Congress government, should never act against the poor and small farmers.
BRS MLC Sravan Dasoju said the “High Court’s heat” should not end with the HYDRAA Commissioner.
Referring to Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy’s remarks in June that he drew inspiration from Adolf Hitler while naming HYDRAA, Dasoju asked who was really pulling the strings.
“Ranganath IPS was merely executing executive policy. The CM’s blatant disregard for constitutional norms and the rule of law shows where the real contempt lies,” he said in a post on X.
The High Court’s heat shouldn’t end with the HYDRAA Commissioner.
When a Chief Minister brags on national media, invoking Hitler and comparing and celebrating demolitions to Gaza and Iran, who is really pulling the strings?
Ranganath IPS was merely executing executive policy.— Prof Dasoju Sravan Kumar (@sravandasoju) July 27, 2026
He also asked whether the Chief Secretary would obey the High Court and relieve the HYDRAA Commissioner or follow Reddy’s directive and defend the “bulldozer policy” in the Supreme Court, if the state government decides to appeal.
Kiran Kumar Reddy said lakes and drainage systems, residential layouts and even roads in Hyderabad had been encroached upon over the past several decades.
He alleged that the real estate mafia occupied land at will and sold it to the poor.
He said Ranganath had worked without political pressure and acted on people’s complaints within 24 hours, and added that people, NGOs and social activists should speak the truth on the issue.
The High Court’s order to replace Ranganath has sharpened the political divide over HYDRAA, with the BJP and BRS stepping up their attack on the Congress government and the Congress defending the agency’s role in protecting public land and acting on encroachments.
– Ends
Published By:
India Today Web Desk
Published On:
Jul 27, 2026 23:58 IST
