VIJAYAWADA: The High Court has directed the State government to maintain status quo regarding the proposed acquisition of 65 cents of land in Survey No. 39-2 of Penumaka village, Tadepalli mandal, Guntur district. The Court ordered the government not to take possession of the land until next Tuesday and adjourned the matter for further hearing to July 21.
The interim order was passed on Friday by a Division Bench comprising Justice Ravi Nath Tilhari and Justice Chintalapudi Purushotham Kumar.
The case concerns land proposed to be acquired for the Seed Access Road being constructed as part of the Amaravati Capital Project. The petitioner, Chodishetty Nirmalatha of Vijayawada, challenged the government’s action, alleging that officials were attempting to take possession of her land without payment of compensation.
Earlier, a Single Judge, Justice Challa Gunaranjan, declined to interfere with the acquisition process, citing the larger public interest involved in the project. Aggrieved by that order, Nirmalatha filed appeals before Division Bench.
After hearing the matter over the past three days, the Bench granted interim protection by directing the State Government not to take possession of the disputed land until the next hearing.
The appeals will be taken up for further consideration on July 21.