HYDERABAD: Justice K Lakshman of the Telangana High Court has issued firm directions to the GHMC commissioner to address long-pending grievances raised by the Amar Society Plot Owners Welfare Association regarding alleged encroachments on the land earmarked for amenities.
The court directed the civic body to consider and act upon the representations submitted by the association, which represents plot owners of Amar Society Layout, located in Survey No 47, Guttala Begumpet village, Serilingampally mandal of Rangareddy district.
A key point of contention in the case is the status of a 1,334-square yard area earmarked for ‘amenities’. According to the association, this land was set aside for communal use and does not comprise residential plots. However, private respondents Amit Agarwal and Krishna Agarwal allegedly constructed a compound wall around the area and claimed its ownership.
The respondents are also said to have offered the same land to the GHMC for public use in exchange for Transferrable Development Rights (TDR), despite the association’s objections. The petitioner claims that this reclassification is illegal and that the land cannot be individually owned or transferred.
Following a lack of response from GHMC officials to the association’s representations made in January and June 2018, the matter was taken to the high court. Justice Lakshman, after reviewing the facts and hearing all parties, directed the GHMC commissioner to thoroughly examine the matter, taking into account the findings of a five-member committee and the legal provisions governing land usage and public amenities.
The GHMC has been instructed to complete the entire exercise, including re-fixation of the FTL of the adjacent Durgam Cheruvu, within eight weeks from the date of receipt of the court order.