Telangana High Court Building | File Image

Hyderabad: The Telangana High Court has set aside the 2006 notification and the 2007 declaration issued to acquire 92.39 acres at Tellapur, Ramachandrapuram mandal in Sangareddy district. It ruled that a notification citing only “development of a township and future projects” does not state the purpose of the acquisition clearly enough to be valid.

The court said the land acquisition process must follow the legal provisions, and that there must be specific reasons for acquiring land. It also found that the objections of landowners were not examined properly under Section 5A of the Land Acquisition Act. It added that decisions in respect of landowners in similar circumstances should not differ. The government is free to acquire the land again, if needed, by following the law.
The notification was issued by the former Hyderabad Urban Development Authority (HUDA) in February 2006 for a proposed township where the land lies in survey numbers 333, 334, 335, 341, 342, 343, 363, 364 and 368.
Justice Vakiti Ramakrishna Reddy, who heard the petition, observed that the purpose stated in the notification was vague and that general terms such as township development and future projects cannot justify taking land. Section 5A requires that landowners be given a chance to raise objections. Those objections must then be examined thoroughly, and in this case, the hearing of objections was a formality. The objections were rejected without considering the history of the lands and without giving proper reasons, which is not a lawful procedure.
The judge said it is not enough to show on record that objections were received and disposed of. If necessary, a further inquiry should be held, and each objection should be decided with adequate reasons while quashing the notification.
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