HYDERABAD: In a relief to the Telangana government, a division bench of the High Court on Monday modified the interim order of a single judge who directed the authorities not to take possession of lands acquired for Komaravelli Mallannasagar reservoir in Vemulaghat and other villages in Siddipet district until full payment of compensation and rehabilitation and resettlement package were given to entitled persons under the new Land Acquisition Act, 2013. The bench now confined the order to Vemulaghat village.
The bench of acting chief justice Ramesh Ranganathan and justice K Vijaya Lakshmi passed this order on an appeal filed by government against single judge’s order. A similar order was passed by the bench recently on an appeal over lands procured at Etigadda Kistapur.
Earlier, petitioners T Yellavva and 19 other agricultural labourers from Vemulaghat moved the court complaining that the government acquired lands under GO 123 for construction of Mallannasagar, a part of Kaleshwaram lift irrigation project, and were trying to take possession of lands without providing rehabilitation and resettlement benefits under Act 2013. While seeking stay of all further action by the government, they sought directions to the authorities to comply with all provisions of the Act. On June 6, a judge granted relief to them by directing the authorities not to take possession of lands at Vemulaghat and other villages till benefits under the Act were extended.
State’s special counsel Sanjeev Kumar said the petitioners won’t be affected if lands in other villages were acquired.
In a similar case, the bench had recently modified an order regarding Etigadda Kistapur village, he said. The bench then modified the single judge’s order by confining it to Vemulaghat only.