HC notice to State for allotting 3 acres of prime land to meditation centre ‘for free’

Hyderabad: On Tuesday, the Telangana High Court issued notices to the State government to provide reasons for allotting 3.7 acres of prime land, worth crores of rupees, for establishing the International Arbitration and Mediation Centre (IAMC) in Hyderabad ‘free of cost.’ The government was given time till November 21 to respond to the notices.

Advocate Koti Raghunatha Rao, in a Public Interest Litigation (PIL), challenged the decision of the Telangana Government in doling out precious government land worth crores of rupees, in survey No 83/1, Raidurg village in Serilingampally mandal, RR district, for the purpose of establishing the International Arbitration and Meditation Centre.

The petitioner, arguing as the party in person, informed the court that the State government cannot allot lands free of cost to a private entity (IAMC).

“This is a private institution and not a government institution,” the counsel informed the court. He said that if the International Arbitration and Mediation Centre needs to be established, then it has to purchase land by paying the cost, as required. The counsel referred to various Supreme Court judgments that said that the State governments cannot allot lands to any private organisations for free.

After hearing the arguments, the Division Bench, comprising Justice K Lakshman and Justice K Sujana, issued notices to the chief secretary, secretary of Legal Affairs and Justice, Law Department, secretary of Revenue Department, Telangana and the International Arbitration and Mediation Centre (IAMC) in Ashok Vihar, Banjara Hills, Hyderabad.

The PIL opposed the decision of the State government to sanction a yearly sum of Rs 3 crores for the purpose of its maintenance and sought a stay on the GOs (government orders) allotting the land. The petitioner sought stay orders on GO 126 dated December 26, 2021, allotting 3.7 acres of government land, and GO 76 released on November 21 sanctioning Rs 3 crores as operating expenses of IAMC, Hyderabad for the financial year 2021-22 to IAMC Trust, Hyderabad.

The case was adjourned to November 21.

According to a hearing in the case in August this year, the petitioner had argued that ‘though there is no provision in the HMDA Act 2008 for allotment of such prime land in such a manner, the state has allotted the land under discretionary quota, without giving a public notice.’

The petitioner further said that there is every possibility of the trust misusing the land. “The conditions in the Trust Deed were amended for this allotment,” the petitioner alleged.