HYDERABAD: The Telangana High Court has directed the state government to recognise widows and widowers as separate families for the purpose of Rehabilitation and Resettlement under the Land Acquisition Act of 2013. The ruling came in response to a batch of writ petitions filed by residents of Gajwel, Vemulaghat, Thogutta and Etigadda Kistapur villages in Siddipet district.
The petitioners, predominantly single women and widows, as well as some widowers and divorcees, contested the government’s denial of benefits, asserting their right to be treated as separate displaced families.
The acquisition of around 2,000 acres of agricultural land for the construction of the Komuravelli Mallannasagar reservoir between 2016 and 2019 prompted the legal battle. Additionally, a new 11(1) notification in January 2018 sought to acquire all houses in the villages due to impending submergence.
Counsel for the petitioners argued that regardless of shared residence or house ownership, these individuals should be regarded as distinct displaced families in accordance with the provisions of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013.
On the government’s side, the special government pleader contended that the petitioners had previously consented to compensation and benefits under GO 120 dated June 30, 2017, along with their other family members. It was asserted that the petitioners were either entitled to benefits under the Act of 2013 or under GO 120, which operate concurrently due to Section 103 of Act 2017.
‘State can’t deny them benefits’
Justice Mummaneni Sudheer Kumar ruled that widows and single women should be recognised as separate families. The state, he stressed, cannot deny them benefits on the basis that such benefits were already extended to the head of the family or the son in the family.