HC seeks Telangana government response on farm land survey

HYDERABAD: Justice A Rajashekar Reddy of Hyderabad

HC

on Thursday sought to know from Telangana government why it was conducting preliminary survey of land belonging to farmers without issuing any notice to them or a notification under the 2013 Land Acquisition Act.

Justice Reddy gave the direction while hearing a petition filed by Urakonda Ramudu and 18 other farmers of Sathapur village in Peddakothapally, Mahabubnagar. The petitioners told the court that revenue authorities were entering their land forcibly without giving any notice to them. They alleged that representatives of a private firm,

Jaypee Associates Company Pvt Ltd

that bagged work contracts in

Palamuru-Ranga Reddy

lift irrigation project, were pressurising them to give away their land under GO MS No. 123 to enable the company to begin work on their land.

The judge asked government pleader Sharat Kumar why authorities were pressurising ryots to sell their lands under G.O. MS No. 123. The state counsel replied that authorities were not pressurising ryots and the survey carried out was legal as section 12 of the 2013 Land Acquisition Act empowered the government to carry out preliminary survey. This was contested by the petitioners' counsel N S Arjun Kumar, who pointed out that the relevant section of the Act would be applicable only after the government issued a preliminary notification under Section 11 of the 2013 Act. The judge posted the matter to September 15.