Family wins years-long battle against Manda Krishna Madiga’s encroachments on their land in Warangal

Hyderabad: In a battle spanning more than two-and-a-half years, a woman and her son in Warangal emerged victorious against all odds in their fight against Madiga Reservation Porata Samithi (MRPS) founder Manda Krishna Madiga and his encroachments on their land.

On January 24, the GWMC demolished the illegal constructions owned by the MRPS founder and, coincidentally, the next day, the Union government honoured him with a Padma Shri for public affairs.

SC/ST was filed against mother and son for complaining about encroachments

Namburi Charumathi and her son Siddharth Namburi had been opposing and protesting the encroachments for a long time even as a case under the SC/ST act was filed against them.

The fight finally reached its end after the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) intervened and directed the Greater Warangal Municipal Corporation (GWMC) to demolish illegal construction encroaching upon 400 square yards of the family’s land on Hunter Road in Hanamkonda.

Explaining his plight to NewsMeter on Monday, Siddharth Namburi said, “In September 2022, Manda Krishna Madiga encroached onto a land owned by my mother and a few others. He demolished our wall and built a house for himself on it. My mother filed a complaint with the authorities, alleging that the MRPS founder, along with others named Jyoti and Iddayya, had encroached on her 400-square-yard plot on Hunter Road and started illegal construction.”

He said that he approached the police and the GWMC officials to stop the illegal occupation and demolish the illegal structures but to no avail. He was forced to escalate the issue.

‘No officer dared to remove the encroachments even after court orders’

“I approached the High Court to direct the GWMC to take immediate action and the court ordered action in six weeks,” said Siddharth.

“The GWMC conducted a detailed inquiry into the matter and issued an order to Manda Krishna to remove his illegal structures within seven days. They warned him that they would remove the encroachments if he didn’t comply with the orders. Weeks, months and years passed but no officer dared to even touch the wall,” he said, and added that the latter became more influential during the elections in Telangana and even campaigned for the victory of prime minister Narendra Modi and the BJP.

Elaborating on the situation, Siddharth said the opportunity of getting close to the PM was misused by Krishna’s people.

Manda Krishna’s brother also encroached onto our property and when we protested, he filed a fake SC/ST atrocity case against us at Subedari police station on June 16, 2024. There was no sign that the demolition would be executed.

Siddharth wrote to the PM and NHRC for help

“After the case was filed, I wrote about the injustice to the Rashtrapati Bhavan, the Prime Minister’s office, the Chief Justice of India, the NHRC and other esteemed organisations. Since Manda Krishna was supporting the BJP, I was not expecting support from the Central agencies but hoped that the ruling Congress government would help. In 2022 and 2023, the local TRS MLA did not dare support us, afraid of losing votes from a certain community. A principal secretary-level officer also called up the GWMC commissioner and asked for demolishing to stop,” he said.

“However, the PMO and the NHRC responded to my grievance and that gave me hope again,” Siddharth said.

Summons from NHRC moved the collector and GWMC commissioner into action

While the GWMC commissioner and collector did not respond to initial notices from the NHRC, they issued fresh notices to the MRPS founder, after the NHRC issued them a summons. The officials came to the site to demolish the illegal structures but faced resistance from their people. Manda Krishna approached the Telangana High Court for a stay on the demolition, but the court did not agree with him, he added.

Siddharth urges people to approach NHRC for help

Siddharth said that on January 23, the court ruled that the GWMC should immediately carry out a complete demolition of the illegal structures in one day.

On January 24, the illegal encroachments were demolished by the municipal authorities. However, the officials left a compound wall, and the court directed the authorities to demolish it by January 30.

“After the demolition of encroachments on my land, it felt like we finally received justice! Two years later, after numerous representations, spending hours in government offices, police stations and courts and fighting fake FIRs, I feel like I have witnessed the entire system of governance. Our case is an example of what the system can do if you are resilient enough, no matter who is against you. I also witnessed the true power and work of the NHRC, which is unlike how they are portrayed in movies—an agency accusing sincere officers. I urge people to approach NHRC for help,” Siddharth said.