Telangana govt tells Hyderabad High Court, it will revise land values in a fortnight

Hyderabad: TS Advocate-General K. Ramakrishna Reddy to the High Court on Tuesday that the state government had decided to revise the market value of land within two weeks. The submission was made to a division bench comprising acting Chief Justice Ramesh Ranganathan and Justice A. Shankar Narayana which was hearing a PIL filed by former Congress MLA M. Kodanda Reddy seeking to declare the inaction of the respondents in revising and updating the market value of land in the rural areas and in correcting anomalies in the market values as illegal.

Counsel for the petitioner contended that issuing of notifications for land acquisition without revising the market value of land would cause huge loss to land holders particularly farmers in the rural areas. While recording the A-G’s statement, the bench adjourned the case for two weeks and asked him to report compliance.

TS to explain pump shift:

The Hyderabad High Court granted four weeks to the state government to spell out its stand on changing the location of the first stage pump house of the Palamuru -Ranga Reddy lift irrigation scheme from the approved location at Narlapur to the right side of Stage-I Kalwakurthy lift irrigation scheme pump house. A division bench of acting Chief Justice Ramesh Ranganathan and Justice A. Shankar Narayana was dealing with a PIL by BJP leader Dr Nagam Janardhan Red-dy challenging the action of the government.

Ms Rachana Reddy, counsel for the petitioner, argued that the location had been changed to suit the whims and fancies of the contract agency and would harm the people of Mahbub-nagar and endanger the Kalwakurthy scheme. She said the irrigation adviser had told the government that changing the location would cause an additional burden of '700 crore. This was against the government claim that the shift would reduce cost and the time taken.

Government counsel said the earlier site was located in a reserve forest and located far away to fulfil the requirements of the project. When the bench asked why the government had changed the location of pump house despite the suggestion of the adviser, counsel sought time to file a counter affidavit.

NGO asked for rule position:

The Hyderabad High Court on Tuesday sought to know whether there was any rule or provision which mandated the executive to place the reports of the Vigilance Commission along with their action taken reports before the state legislature. A division bench comprising acting Chief Justice, Ramesh Ranganathan and Justice A. Shankar Narayana was hearing a petition by Forum for Good Governance challenging the action of the Telangana government in not making any efforts to either vet the recommendations or place them before the Assembly.

When counsel for the petitioner alleged that the government was not placing the commission reports before the legislature with an intention to protect tainted officials, the bench asked counsel to show any provision or rule that mandated the executive to place the reports before the legislature. The bench adjourned the case following request from the counsel to grant time for study and verification.

TS, MCI get court order on dengue:

The High Court on Tuesday issued notices to the state government, Medical Council of India (MCI) and other respondents on a PIL questioning the inaction of the authorities in preventing dengue and malaria. A division bench comprising acting Chief Justice, Ramesh Ranganathan and Justice A. Shankar Narayana was hearing the PIL by Weltech Foundation, a NGO, urging the court to direct the government to provide quality treatment to dengue and malaria patients by increasing the number of beds in primary health centres to not less than 50 and 200 beds in area hospitals of each district, especially for dengue and malaria patients.

Counsel for the petitioner alleged that the government had been suppressing facts with regard to deaths due to malaria and dengue. It had recorded two deaths in Khammam district when 32 people lost their lives due to malaria and dengue. While issuing notices, the bench asked the respondents to file their affidavits within three weeks.