Hyderabad: Disputes cropped up among the Telangana and Andhra employees over who were eligible for the housing sites right from the initial stages in Gopanpally. The sites could not be allotted even till 2004.
In this backdrop, employees from various departments formed four associations APNGOs, TNGOs, High Court Employees Association and Secretariat Employees Association. These four associations together formed a common association to resolve the disputes, ensure transparency in site allotments and do justice to all the employees and approached the YSR government for land allotment. YSR allotted land to this common employees association.
Out of 477 acres, APNGOs were allotted 189 acre in 2004. However, the YSR government took back the land in 2007 after APNGOs failed to build houses on the land. APNGOs again approached YSR in 2008 and urged him to reallot the land, which he did, but disputes cropped up again between APNGOs and TNGOs due to which the land is still unused.
Soon after the TRS forming the first government in Telan-gana, Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao directed revenue department officials to submit a report on the “factual position” of the Gopanpally land allotment. The Revenue officials from Ranga Reddy conducted the inquiry and submitted a report stating that the land has been lying unused. Based on this, the Telan-gana government directed the officials to take back the land following which revenue officials on Thursday took possession and put up the boards to this effect immediately.
Sources said the decision was taken as the APNGOs wo-uld stay in the city only for 10 years, during the “common capital” period, and there was no need to allot them land in the city to build permanent houses.
APNGOs strongly condemned the decision of the Telangana government to cancel the land allotment. It said it clearly confirmed the “witch-hunt” of the TRS government against Seemandhra employees.
“We could not allot house sites to all the employees as there was a pending case in the Supreme Court for over 90 acre. We have already spent over Rs 3 crore on this land for development and layout. Allotments were already made to 1,644 employees on the remaining undisputed land. When employees were about to start construction of houses, the TRS government took a hasty decision in cancelling land allotments. We will challenge this in the court of law,” said Mr P. Ashok Babu, president, APNGOs.
He also challenged the revenue department officials to prove their claim that nothing had been done on the land allotted to them. “The underground drainage system and water pipelines have been laid and parks were developed during the last six years. We are spending over '30,000 per month for maintenance. Just because there are pending cases in courts, individual plots could not be allotted. It’s not fair on the part of the TRS government to cancel land allotment on the sole ground that houses are not built on the site,” Mr Babu added.
On the other hand, Telangana NGOs welcomed the decision. “Why should the Telangana government allot land to Seemandhra employees in Telangana? APNGOs will work in Hyderabad only for 10 years during the common capital period. They have to go back to their native state later,” said Mr G. Deviprasad, president, TNGOs.
