Amendment to Telangana Assigned Lands Act: High Court issues notice to CS, others

Hyderabad:The High Court has issued notice to the Chief Secretary, Special Chief Secretary, Secretary Revenue Department, and the Chief Commissioner of Land Administration (CCLA) in a PIL challenging the amendment to Telangana Assigned Lands (POT), Act, 1977.

Telangana Republican Party has challenged the amendment. Through this amendment, the government has extended the cut-off date for reassignment of the assigned lands in favor of the third parties from 29-01-2007 as stipulated under Section 4(1)(b) of the Act to 31-12-2017, which is in clear violation of the principles of natural justice and Telangana Assigned Lands (Prohibition of Transfers) Act, 1977.

With the reassignment of the assigned lands to the eligible third party, who has purchased the assigned lands for a sale consideration on or before 31-12-2017, the ownership will be transferred to the purchaser, which is under challenge.

A division bench of Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice N.V. Shravan Kumar was adjudicating the plea filed by the Telangana Republican Party, represented by its General Secretary Andugula Anand, seeking a direction to SET ASIDE the Act No. 12 of 2018 dated 12th April 2018 viz., the Telangana Assigned Lands Prohibition of Transfers Amendment Act, 2018.

The counsel for the petitioner informed the court that the erstwhile governments allotted small parcels of wastelands / assigned Lands to the landless poor persons from November 1969 with the intent that they would eke out their livelihood based on farming or other allied ancillary works.

Moreover, due to illiteracy, ignorance, and social and economic backwardness, the original allottees could not reap the benefits of such lands and they gradually sold them to influential and financially well-off people at a very cheap rate. A land valued at Rs. 50 lakh to one crore was sold for Rs. 5 lakh thereby gaining huge profits by exploiting the poor and illiterate people.

The petitioner sought a direction to re-allot the assigned lands to the original allottee by taking possession of the lands from the persons, who have purchased the lands from the original allottees on a sale consideration.

The petitioner further submitted that Section 3 of the Telangana Assigned Lands (POT), Act, 1977 prohibits the transfer of assigned lands, despite such a fact, the then Telangana government and present government has come up with an amendment Act.No. 12 of 2018 to the old act i.e., Telangana Assigned Lands (POT), Act, 1977.

During the land records updation programme, it was noticed that nearly two lakh acres of assigned lands in Telangana were transferred to third parties, who are now in possession of the assigned lands, out of which 74,000 acres of assigned land alone exist in erstwhile Rangareddy district.

The court has adjourned the matter for 2 weeks.