Telangana High Court Declines Interim Relief in Bhoodan Demolition Case

Hyderabad: The Telangana High Court on Wednesday declined to grant interim relief to petitioners claiming to be victims of the demolition drive on Bhoodan lands in Velugumatla village of Khammam district.

Talluri Venkata Narasamma and 23 others challenged the demolition of their houses, stating that the lands were allotted to them under the Bhoodan scheme. They sought directions to the State government for reconstruction of their houses and compensation for the demolished structures. They also sought a writ of mandamus declaring the January 17, 2026 proceedings of the Telangana Bhoodan Yagna Board, represented by the Special Chief Secretary and Chief Commissioner of Land Administration (CCLA), as illegal and arbitrary, alleging they were wrongly classified as encroachers.

The petitioners stated that they were assigned 100 square yard plots each under a 2012 government order. However, subsequent proceedings declared them unauthorised occupants of Bhoodan land admeasuring Ac.31-07 guntas.

Justice B. Vijaysen Reddy observed that granting such relief could adversely affect a large number of eligible poor beneficiaries and said the court was not inclined to pass interim orders.

Government counsel Katram Muralidhar Reddy informed the court that some petitioners were found eligible for house-site pattas and benefits under the Indiramma Indlu scheme, while others were rejected as they already owned houses. Claims of some applicants are still under consideration.

The government further submitted that 311 pattas were issued after the demolition drive and 101 beneficiaries received assistance under the housing scheme.

Petitioners’ counsel T. Srikanth Reddy argued that only the Bhoodan Board was competent to issue pattas and questioned the legality of allotments made under the Telangana Assigned Lands (Prohibition of Transfers) Act, 1977.

The government admitted a clerical error in earlier pattas and said corrections were made.

The case was posted to April 15 for further hearing.