Hyderabad: The Hyderabad High Court on Monday made it clear that the GOs issued by the TS government to compensate agriculture labourers and artisans under the National Investment and Manufacturing Zone will not be applicable to families affected by irrigation projects.
A division bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Ramesh Ranganathan and Justice U. Durga Prasad Rao was hearing a batch of petitions challenging land procurement through GO 123 for the Mallannasagar project in Medak district.
Vedula Venkata Ramana and A. Satya Prasad, senior counsels appearing for the petitioners, submitted that though the court had asked the government advocate general to file a counter-affidavit, till date he had not done so.
They contended when the state has no power to acquire lands under GO 123 and there was reluctance in filing the counter in the case, there was no point in extending the date of hearing to next Wednesday. Counsels said that these matters could be heard ex-parte based on the facts of the writ petitions.
Advocate-general K. Ramakrishna Reddy reminded that he had already made a statement before the court on August 11 that the government will not touch the lands of those petitioners who have approached the High Court and that if at all their lands were required for the project, the government will acquire them lands through Act 2013.
While stating that no landowner will dispossessed from the land for a period of one year, Mr Reddy told the court that the government has already issued GOs No 190 and 191 to compensate the affected agriculture labourers and artisans through land procurement under the GO 123.
The bench said that those GOs were not applicable to the irrigation projects as the NIMZ is an infrastructure project which deals in Schedule 2 of the Central Act for Land Acquisition 2013 and there are other parameters prescribed under Scheduled 3 of the Act 2013 to rehabilitate and resettle the affected families under the irrigation projects and the Act also provides compensation for the submerged lands.
Counsels for the petitioners complained to the court that the government has been threatening landowners who are not willing to sell their land under GO 123 and booking police cases against them. They insisted on a stay on GO 123.
Justice Ramesh Ranganathan said since the A-G has given an undertaking to the court that the state will not dispossess landowners, agriculture labourers and artisans, and will also allow the agricultural operations to go on for another year, it was proper to give an opportunity to the state to file the counter. The bench asked the A-G to file the counter and posted the case to August 31.
Stay on land survey for redesigning of Palamuru
The Hyderabad High Court on Monday directed the TS revenue authorities to maintain status quo on survey of lands in Yellur village of Mahbubnagar district proposed to be acquired for the redesigning of the Palamuru Ranga Reddy Lift Irrigation Scheme, till further orders.
Justice Suresh Kumar Kait was dealing with a petition by one Naga Jyothi and 40 other farmers of the village, alleging that the revenue authorities were conducting the survey of lands through the Navayuga Engineering Company Limited under the guise of proposed redesigning of Palamuru -Ranga Reddy Lift Irrigation Scheme without following the procedure as laid down under Section 12 of the Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013.
The petitioners brought to the notice of the court that in 2003, the government had acquired 265 acres for the Mahatma Gandhi Lift Irrigation Scheme Phase-1 and 389 acres for Phase-II. This had resulted 268 families losing their livelihood, they said, adding that another 15 families lost their lands for the Srisailam project.
They told the court the government now proposed to acquire another 185 acres for the redesigning of the Palamuru Lift Irrigation Project which would lead to 38 more families losing their livelihood and if their lands were taken away they will have no other option but to commit suicide. While issuing notices to the respondents, the judge ordered the status quo.
