GO on land allotment to TTD staff set aside

Hyderabad: In a major setback to the state government as well as the employees of the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), the Andhra Pradesh High Court set aside a GO issued permitting the TTD to alienate 157 acres of its prime land to its employees for house sites.

A division bench comprising Chief Justice Kalyan Jyoti Sengupta and Justice K.C. Bhanu disposing the petitions felt that the provisions of the AP Charitable and Hindu Religious Institutions and Endowments Act, 1987 were not followed by the TTD and the government in alienating the land. The bench pointed out that the TTD has power to alienate the land, but the rules pertaining to property are to be followed in letter and spirit.

The government has issued a GO in October 2008, permitting the TTD to alienate 157 acres, including 25 acres of Sri Venkateswara Dairy, another 25 acres of Sri Venkateswara Poor Home and 100 acres in Brahmanpattu village, at Tirupati, to give house sites to employees of TTD. The High Court in 2010 granted an interim stay on implementation of the GO.

P.B. Ramesh and others associated with the Tirumala Tirupati Samrakshna Samiti moved two petitions challenging the order of the government. They contended that the TTD could not have proposed for such alienation of prime lands, which cost hundreds of crores of rupees, in the name of house plots to its employees.

They submitted that 100 acres at Brahmanpattu belonged to Sri Lakshimi Narayana Swamy temple and TTD has no power or jurisdiction to alienate that land and the remaining 57 acres were located at Vinayaknagar and SGS College areas, which are considered to be prime localities in pilgrimage city of Tirupati.

They said the action of the government was contrary to the provisions of the Endowments Act and there was no application of mind and every one succumbed to the pressure of the employees, just before the general elections, in 2009.

The petitioners brought to the notice of the court that after filing of petitions, they were attacked at the administrative office of the TTD and they have filed the cases against the responsible for the attack. The petitioners filed the FIR copies before the court.

Defending its action, the TTD has contended that the employees who have been selflessly serving the temple are being given some symbolic relief. The Employees Association which had impeded as one of the parties to the petitions urged the court to vacate the stay and dismiss the case.