HYDERABAD: The Telangana High Court has faulted Revenue and Irrigation officials for arbitrarily acquiring private patta lands for the Mission Kakatiya Project in Khammam district.
Justice Anil Kumar Jukanti was hearing a writ petition filed by a farmer, Bonam Sanjeeva Reddy, and seven others from Adavimallela village, Penuballi mandal, challenging the acquisition of their lands for the project.
The petitioners contended that the district collector, RDO, tahsildar and the Irrigation department superintendent had wrongly treated their patta lands as part of a tank (cheruvu) without issuing any notice or initiating acquisition proceedings.
The government pleader defended the action, stating that land acquisition was necessary only for new projects and that even if patta lands fall within the Full Tank Level (FTL), compensation could not be claimed.
Justice Jukanti, however, disagreed, observing: “If the minimum water level of the tank is 834 units and it has been raised to 854 units, then compensation must be paid.” The judge questioned how officials could make such decisions affecting private landowners and whether they had authority to raise the water level, thereby submerging private lands.
He further pointed out inconsistencies in survey records, noting that the land in Survey No. 29 lying in the middle of the tank was classified as dry land.
“These issues arise only because FTL boundaries have not been properly fixed across the state. Unless the Revenue department is reformed, this country will never improve,” he remarked.