Pharma City: 72 farmers get notices in land acquisition case
A bench of the Telangana High Court on Friday issued notices to 72 farmers in response to a writ appeal filed by the state government challenging a single-judge order dated August 4, 2023 that nullified a 2017 preliminary notification issued for acquiring 250 acres in Medipally and Kurmidha villages of Yacharam mandal for the Hyderabad Pharma City project, under the National Investment and Manufacturing Zone (NIMZ). The single judge had directed the state and its revenue authorities to restart the acquisition process from the stage of hearing objections from the farmers. This decision also set aside the declarations and awards made by land acquisition authorities under Section 19(1) of the 2013 Land Acquisition Act. The Act requires authorities to not only compensate landowners but also rehabilitate labourers, artisans and others who make their livelihoods on such land. Furthermore, the judge instructed the state to base compensation on the latest market value as of the judgment date, rather than the 2017 market value.
On Friday, a bench of Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice J. Anil Kumar, took up a hearing of the writ appeal which informed that the state government plans to acquire a total of 18,000 acres for the Pharma City project. Of this, the state government has completed the acquisition of 10,000 acres.
Land to IAMC: HC fines state for delay in filing counter
Adivision bench of the Telangana High Court on Friday expressed displeasure over the state government’s failure to file a counter affidavit regarding the allotment of 3.7 acres of government land worth about Rs 300 crore to the International Arbitration and Mediation Centre (IAMC) Trust at no cost. The court had in November last year directed the state to file a counter affidavit. Angered by authorities’ non-compliance with its order, the high court imposed a penalty of Rs 1,000 per day on the state government, payable to the Telangana State Legal Services Authority (TSLSA) until the counter is filed. The hearing has been adjourned for four weeks.
The case revolves around a government order (JVO 126) issued on December 26, 2021, which allocated 3.7 acres of prime land in Rayadurg, Serilingampalli nandal of Rangareddy district, to the IAMC Trust. In addition to the free land allotment, the state government provided financial assistance of Rs 3 crore to Trust for management expenses. The land allotment and financial support were challenged in 2023 by lawyers Venkata Ramireddy and Koti Raghunatha Rao through separate public interest litigations (PILs).
Cooperative Societies chief summoned for non-compliance
Taking serious note of the non-compliance by the Cooperatives department with its orders, Justice CV Bhaskar Reddy of the Telangana High Court on Friday directed M. Haritha, the Commissioner and Registrar of Cooperative Societies, to appear in person before the court on September 27. This court was hearing a contempt case filed by A Murali Mukund, the former secretary of the Jubilee Hills House Building Cooperative Society. In his petition, Mukund said that there was no action by the department on complaints submitted over two years ago concerning alleged irregularities by serving and former executive committees of the society, including unauthorised transfer of plots to individuals in violation of established norms. Despite the department initiating an inquiry and a report being submitted by S Aruna Devi Ganesh, the inquiry officer, the findings have not been made public, he said.
Aruva Raghuram, counsel for the petitioner, argued that despite repeated requests under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, the cooperatives department refused to provide a copy of the inquiry report, stating that it was still under departmental consideration. This was despite the fact that over 60 members have filed similar complaints against the Society.