Court to CS: replace HYDRAA chief
Telangana High Court, hearing contempt over a 40-acre Lothkunta land row, told the Chief Secretary on July 27 to replace/relieve HYDRAA commissioner A.V. Ranganath after an apology episode went nowhere. The exact order text isn’t public yet; compliance is unconfirmed.
The High Court direction followed an unsatisfactory apology episode in the Lothkunta contempt case.
Justice Jukanti Anil Kumar, hearing contempt linked to Survey Nos. 1 and 2 at Lothkunta (Medchal–Malkajgiri), told the Telangana Chief Secretary on July 27 to relieve or replace HYDRAA commissioner A.V. Ranganath and appoint a suitable officer, according to multiple reports. The case was moved by M/s Shantha Sriram Constructions, which alleged HYDRAA interfered with its 40-acre property despite earlier court directions protecting possession.
This followed a July 24 instruction to Ranganath to file an affidavit with an apology by July 27. Reports differ on whether the apology wasn’t filed in time, was filed without what the court asked for, or was rejected as inadequate; either way, the court wasn’t satisfied. The bench also referred, per reports, to 63 contempt matters tied to Ranganath’s time at HYDRAA — a judicial observation reported in open court, not a registry tally.
HYDRAA has been told before it is not “super cops of governance”. In June, the court also pulled the agency up for entering private land despite orders. Ranganath has said he will contest the contempt matter and has full faith in the judiciary. The exact operative language of the July 27 direction — remove, relieve, replace or request — is not yet available in a certified order, and there is no public record that the state has executed a replacement. The BJP-led Centre won’t help here, and Telangana does not need Delhi’s lectures on law and order; it needs its own agencies to follow court orders without the High Court having to do HR.