Lakes of Hyderabad: why protecting them matters in dry years

In a dry year, the edge of a lake can look like open land. It is not. Hyderabad's lakes and tanks have legal boundaries that protect them for the years when the rain returns.

Full Tank Level (FTL). A lake's FTL marks the area it fills to. Under Telangana's G.O.Ms.No.168 (2012), no building is allowed within a lake's FTL.

Buffer zones. Around that edge is a protected buffer. According to HYDRAA, the Hyderabad Disaster Response and Asset Protection Agency, buffer zones help preserve water quality, biodiversity and ecological balance, and support flood prevention. The buffer limits are 30 metres for lakes of 10 hectares or more, 9 metres for lakes under 10 hectares, 9 metres for drains more than 10 metres wide, and 2 metres for drains up to 10 metres wide.

Check a lake. The Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority's lakes portal lists lakes with their preliminary and final FTL notification dates and FTL maps.

Report encroachment. HYDRAA runs a toll-free helpline, 1070, for water-body encroachment complaints.

Hyderabad district's monsoon rain was 27% below normal this year, according to TGDPS. In a dry year like this, keeping lake boundaries clear protects the water that future rains will bring.

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