Hyderabad: After wresting 250-acre prime land in Puppalguda worth Rs 8,000 crore from private individuals in the High Court recently, the TS government has set its focus on recovering a 20-acre parcel of government land worth Rs 500 crore in Kukatpally, which is under the possession of private individuals since 1960s.
Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao has asked revenue department officials to take up the fight in the Supreme Court to retain the land so that it can be used for building 2BHK houses for the poor. The revenue department has created a separate cell with legal experts to recover about 17,500 acres of government land worth Rs 3 lakh crore on the city outskirts that is under the illegal possession of private individuals and institutions for decades.
At a recent meeting held with revenue officials, the CM appreciated the efforts of senior revenue officials in securing control over the Puppalguda land by submitting ownership documents before the High Court. They should continue to work with the same spirit in getting back thousands of acres of government land currently under illegal possession of others. Mr Rao said the Puppalguda case proved that governments in undivided AP had turned a blind eye towards encroachments and resorted to illegal land allotments in the city and its outskirts. He said the Puppalguda case also showed how the government could retain and protect its land if the state goverment and officials worked with sincerity.
“The government had allotted 20 acre in KPHB to the State Housing Board in 1962 to construct low-cost houses for the poor. A private individual approached the lower courts and, later, the High Court claiming ownership of the land. All courts ruled in favour of the government. The person moved the Supreme Court, where the case is pending. The governments in undivided AP ignored the case in the Supreme Court,” said a senior official of the revenue department.
