Ramoji told to give up excess land

TNN / Aug 9, 2007, 02:56 IST

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The Land Reforms Tribunal passed orders saying Ramoji Rao’s family and their firms were holding excess land to the tune of over 1,300 acres. They have been asked to surrender the excess land in the next 15 days.

HYDERABAD: Ending a nine-month quasi-judicial battle between media baron Ch Ramoji Rao and revenue officials, the Land Reforms Tribunal of Ranga Reddy district, headed by a revenue divisional officer (RDO), on Wednesday passed orders saying Ramoji Rao’s family and their firms were holding excess land to the tune of over 1,300 acres. They have been asked to surrender the excess land in the next 15 days.
Ranga Reddy east division RDO T Manikyala Rao in his orders said that Ramoji Rao’s kin—sons Ch Kiron and Ch Suman—and his group firms—Usha Kiron Movies Ltd, Margadarsi Chit Fund Ltd, Margadarsi Housing Pvt Ltd, Usha Kiron Movies Ltd, Dolphin Hotel Ltd—are holding land in excess than permitted under the Andhra Pradesh Land Reforms (Ceiling on Agricultural Holdings) Act, 1973.
The Ramoji Group has been vehemently opposing this move in the tribunal for the past nine months saying that they do not come under the purview of this Act, since their’s was no more agricultural land and that they had got the status of these land changed from agricultural to non-agricultural land and this "Act is not applicable to non-agricultural land".
However, the government rejected their claim and held this was not valid before law.
On December 12, 2006, the Ranga Reddy district revenue officials slapped notices on Ramoji Rao family and their group firms under the AP Land Reforms Act to declare the land held by them.
The tribunal said Rao’s family and their firms own 1804.83 acres in Hayathnagar, Ibrahimpatnam, Shamshabad mandals in Ranga Reddy; Kankipadu, Pennamanuru and Penamaluru mandals in Krishna and Pedapanjani and Bangarupalem mandals in Chittoor. Of these, 1,363.86 acres are more than the ceiling limit. "We will issue notices to these firms to identify which of the excess land they would surrender. They have to identify and surrender the excess land (1,363.86 acres) in the next 15 days," Manikyala Rao told ‘TOI’ on Wednesday.

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