The 1989 movie Siva, catapulted actor Akkineni Nagarjuna, one of Tollywood’s biggest names into stardom even beyond the Telugu speaking landscape. From his portrayal of a young chain-wielding student, angered by a corrupt campus administration, Nagarjuna bolstered his career as an actor in over 100 movies while simultaneously running several businesses. So it took many by surprise when the Congress-led Telangana government demolished the actor’s N Convention Centre, a space in Hyderabad which hosted several elite weddings.

The glory of N Convention centre with all its domes and arches was brought down on Saturday, August 24, by Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy’s new brain child – the Hyderabad Disaster Response and Asset Protection Agency, popularly called HYDRA. Regardless of whether CM Revanth’s HYDRA was meant to be an oblique reference to Marvel’s Avengers’ terrorist entity, the asset protection agency hasn’t escaped the spotlight since N Convention was brought down.

Since its inception in July 2024, HYDRA has demolished several buildings. Under construction projects belonging to the Oro Sports Village and Palamuru Grill were bulldozed in Hyderabad for encroaching on the buffer zone of Osman Sagar lake. Even a building owned by the Greenko Group, a renewable energy company, which donated Rs 13 crore in electoral bonds to the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) in Telangana, was demolished.

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But why is the Telangana government going hammer and tongs after illegal buildings built on encroached land by politically connected people? Why is the state keen on promoting some version of ‘Hail Hydra’ and by extension ‘Jai Congress’? What inspired this move?

Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy claimed it’s the Bhagavad Gita, a sacred Hindu text.

“The inspiration (behind these demolitions) is the Bhagavad Gita. During the battle of Kurukshetra, Lord Krishna advised Arjun to fight against his cousins and not forfeit. For the welfare of the world, you must fulfill your responsibility, Lord Krishna had said. Dharma (duty) should stay alive," Revanth Reddy said on Sunday, August 25.

The state government has stated that, so far, 43.94 acres have been reclaimed through HYDRA’s anti-encroachment drive.

The previous BRS-led state government was pulled up by activists and residents for scrapping a government order, GO 111, enacted to safeguard the catchment areas responsible for diverting water to Osman Sagar and Himayat Sagar – two of the city’s major lakes – which traditionally supplied drinking water to the city. With the scrapping of the GO, the Telangana High Court found itself flooded by litigations. Several allegations of encroachments came to the fore.

“All constructions that violate the GO 111 will face action,” CM Revanth told The Hindu on August 26. Revanth Reddy anointed himself as protector of lakes and started painting BRS leaders as arch villains.

HYDRA’s realpolitik: Congress v/s Opposition

After the bulldozers were let loose, HYDRA’s actions were criticised by the Opposition. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) and the BRS criticised the entity for having no legal standing and becoming a tool in the hands of the government to target properties owned by leaders of Opposition parties in the state.

Amid talk that his Janawada farmhouse would be demolished, BRS working president KT Rama Rao (KTR) remarked that if there is encroachment, he had no objection to the demolition.

“When something good is happening, we should welcome it. But at the same time, I need to ask the Congress government. Telangana’s Revenue minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy’s residence is also born out of encroachment. Patnam Mahender Reddy, Sukender Reddy, Madhu Yakshi Goud and several other Congress leaders have encroached on Full Tank Levels (FTL) of lakes and buffer zones. Is Congress going to take action on all of them? I don’t own the Janawada farmhouse and have taken it on lease,” said KTR.

After KTR voiced his criticism, several Opposition leaders including AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi, BJP MP Raghunanadan Rao and others either hinted or outright stated that HYDRA is politically motivated. The Jubilee Hills police, however, on August 10 registered a case against a Congress party MLA, Danam Nagender, for aiding and abetting locals to demolish a compound wall of a government property in Nandagiri Hills. The registered FIR was based on a complaint given by HYDRA official V Papaiah.

HYDRA Commissioner AV Rangaanth told TNM that if found guilty, they will take action against any leader, regardless of party affiliation. “For all the criticism, we haven’t demolished any properties owned by BRS leaders yet. I think they are speaking based on apprehensions. It would be better if I desist from responding to such apprehensions,” he said.

But HYDRA’s troubles are far from over. Actor Nagarjuna has stated that he wasn’t even served a notice prior to N Convention’s demolition. “We issued the notice and followed due process. But even otherwise, the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) Act does permit demolition to happen without a notice. We can take it up in the court but we have followed due process,” he said.

Also Read: ‘Will approach court’: Nagarjuna condemns demolition of N Convention Centre

Ranganath was referring to Section 405 of the GHMC Act which empowers the Commissioner to without notice, remove “any wall, fence, rail, post, step, booth or other structure whether fixed or movable and whether of a permanent or a temporary nature, or any fixture which shall be erected or set up in or upon or over any street, any open channel, drain, well or tank contrary to the provisions of this Act.”

New bulldozer politics

With the demolition of N Convention Centre, owned by a powerful celebrity, Revanth established himself in the list of Chief Ministers who have been using “bulldozer action”, to bolster their standing.

The phrase ‘bulldozer action’ became popular over the past few years. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath remarked in September 2017 that his government would “bulldoze houses of anyone even thinking of perpetuating crime against women and weaker sections of the society." By 2020, Yogi was dubbed ‘bulldozer baba’ by the mainstream media for demolition of gangster-turned politician Mukhtar Ansari’s property. Following the path of Yogi, former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan selectively bulldozed Muslim residences in 2022, prompting the moniker ‘Bulldozer mama’.

‘Slums not part of HYDRA’s focus’

While CM Revanth’s ‘bulldozer action’ differs from the kind followed by BJP leaders in Northern India, that specifically targeted Muslims there are concerns that slums would be targeted. Commissioner Ranganath told TNM that slums or areas where marginalised sections reside are not a part of HYDRA’s focus. “We need to have a humane approach in all this. We are focusing on big resorts, commercial buildings and upcoming residential complexes,” he said. HYDRA has received over a thousand complaints related to encroachments from the public, he said.

When asked about concerns expressed by BRS MLA Krishna Rao over buyers of properties being facing hardships because of such demolitions, Ranganath said the builders have to pay the price for their illegality. “At the end of the day, what needs to be kept in mind is the Benthamite philosophy – what matters is the greater good of greater number of people,” he said

The fear is however palpable among Opposition leaders. BRS MLA Palla Rajeshwar, who owns the Anurag Group of education institutions,moved the Telangana High Court asking his buildings to be protected from actions by HYDRA. Commissioner Ranganath was however tightlipped on structures that are facing demolition. With Telangana government deliberating on extending HYDRA’s jurisdiction beyond the capital, the bulldozer is likely to be a relevant symbol in Telangana politics.