Hyderabad: Some Central government laws insist that state governments must grant ownership of government land to those who stay on the property for more than 12 years, and that those who have constructed permanent structures over this period can be considered as owners of the land. However, some ‘Directive Principles of State Policy’ differ in some cases.
Senior advocate Tirunagari Venkata Ramana, who deals with civic and land cases, says those encroaching on government land always face the threat of eviction. “The government can acquire that land at any moment. If the government acquires it for development projects, there is no need to provide any compensation as the land is marked as ‘government’ in revenue records. In case of patta land, the government will have to give compensation under the relief and rehabilitation package,” he said.
The schemes announced by the Telangana government, like regularisation of lands and buildings, are a boon to those staying in unauthorised structures.
“Even the government has allowed sada binamas (white paper declarations) for making pattas, but getting this done is a decades-long struggle. There is another category that approaches courts with bogus documents and wills under the Inheritance Act. They would face problems from the government,” he said.
