Railways lose land, move court on GHMC

By S A Ishaqui

Hyderabad, Jan. 25: The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation on Friday bulldozed compound walls of the South Central Railway’s quarters on the road from Sangeet to Tarnaka, much to the dismay and anger of railway officials. It also felled more than half-a-dozen fully grown trees along the road without getting permission from the forest department.

A row had been on between the GHMC and the SCR over the ownership of the property which came in the way of road widening.

Though the land is under the possession of the railways, the civic body had been claiming that it was owned by the state government and had refused to pay the Rs 140 crore compensation sought by the SCR.

On Friday morning, the GHMC brought the debate to an abrupt end by rolling in bulldozers and demolishing the structures, shocking SCR officials living in the quarters. The GHMC needs 80,000 square yards of land on this stretch for road widening.On getting news of the demolition, SCR officials including the chief engineer rushed to the spot.

However, top GHMC officials slipped away tactfully at the right moment leaving their juniors to deal with the issue. Despite trying several times, SCR officials were unable to get the GHMC Commissioner, Dr C.V.S.K. Sarma, or the Additional Commissioner, Mr Dhanunjay Reddy, on the phone.

The SCR spokesman, Mr Krishnaiah, told this correspondent that the GHMC action amounted to cheating. “How can they do it when the land dispute has not reached any conclusion?” he asked. In a press release issued late in the evening, the SCR castigated the GHMC demolition as illegal and arbitrary and added that the entire stretch of property had been with the railways for more than 100 years.

However, Dr Sarma said that the SCR did not hand over the land despite notices being issued. “We had warned that if the portion was not handed over by January 24, we will take action,” he said.

Mr Dhanunjaya Reddy also added that the GHMC had submitted relevant documents proving that the railways had been given the land on lease by the state government. “The lease expired in 1979,” he said.

The GHMC’s indiscriminate felling of trees on the road also evoked shock and surprise. What is more, the civic body is planning to cut more trees in the area in the coming days. “We have written to the forest department but I have to check whether we got a reply,” said the GHMC Chief Horticulturist, Mr Konda Reddy.

Meanwhile, the Andhra Pradesh High Court expressed dismay over the land dispute between the GHMC and the SCR and asked the latter to file a criminal complaint and a private complaint against the GHMC commissioner.

When the SCR counsel, Poluri Bhaskar, told the court about the bulldozing of the wall by the GHMC, Justice G. Raghuram asked, “Why didn’t you seek the help of the Railway Protection Force?”

HC to set up largest-ever bench

Hyderabad, Jan. 22: The Andhra Pradesh High Court is likely to constitute a seven-member constitution bench to hear a batch of writ petitions filed in support of and against the four per cent reservations to backward groups among Muslim community.
Sources said that this would be the first time that a seven-member bench was being constituted by the AP High Court to hear a case. A larger bench of the High Court comprising Justice Meena Kumari, Justice B. Prakash Rao, Justice D.S.R. Varma, Justice A. Gopal Reddy and Justice V. Eswaraiah, is presently hearing the batch of petitions relating to the reservation issue. On Tuesday, the bench indicated that they would in all likelihood refer the case to a seven-member constitution bench.
The bench also hinted that it will take the relevant decision on Wednesday. Before giving these indications, members of the bench had a serious discussion on the issue. Earlier, the bench heard the arguments of Mr L. Ravichander, counsel for one of the petitioners, Mr D. Karunakar. He submitted that authorities did not have any criteria or data on the backwardness of the Muslim groups. He told the court that the petitioner had submitted an application on May 22, 2007, seeking the information collected by the backward class commission on Muslim groups. But the commission replied that it did not have any data. The petitioner again submitted an application on June 29 seeking the information and the commission replied once more that it did not have the relevant data. "When the commission does not have any data, then on what basis did it recommend that reservations be given to these groups?" asked the counsel. Mr Ravichander argued that the BC commission had relied heavily on the Krishnan committee’s report and had not independently conducted any study.

Government biggest litigant

Hyderabad, Jan. 19: The government is the biggest litigant in the state with as many as 70,000 cases pending in various courts. Some of these date back to over two decades. The revenue department tops the list with 19,633 cases, sources in the law department told this correspondent. Most cases pertain to land acquisition where the government has dragged on the cases. The irrigation and command area development department has 11,704 cases and the labour and employment 5,351 cases, the sources said quoting figures recently collated by law the department.
The home department has 3,497 cases which are mostly criminal appeals filed by the government and revision petitions filed by aggrieved persons. Of the 70,000 cases, about 20,000 cases are more than five years old. There are 32,279 cases involving the government pending in the AP High Court. Sources pointed out that the Somasila, Telugu Ganga and Priydarshini Jurala projects were constructed a decade ago but disputes over land acquisition for these projects are still pending in courts. The displaced farmers of Somasila are still doing the rounds of the courts for three decades. Some petitioner-farmers visit the AP High Court carrying lunch boxes almost every day. The AP High Court recently disposed of a batch of writ petitions pertaining to Velugodu balancing reservoir, Sriramsagar and Jurala projects. The government has admitted before the High Court that over 600 cases of land acquisition are pending for over two decades. Most of the petitioners have died and their heirs are pursing the cases.
The AP High Court has on several occasions pulled up officials including the chief secretary over laxity in settling issues which leads to people to move the courts.Keeping in view the mounting cases, the government has proposed to set up legal cells in all departments. It has also decided to constitute a special legal wing in the law department to monitor the cases daily.Law sources told this correspondent that the constitution of a special wing is awaiting the approval of the Chief Minister, Dr Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy. The government has also decided to appoint special solicitors for dispose of the pending cases.

State, Reliance get High Court notice for choking waterbodies

The Andhra Pradesh High Court issued notices to the Central and state governments and Reliance Industries on a petition that charged the oil giant with choking protected streams and creeks. The petitioner, Venkataramana Matsyakara Sankshema Seva Sangham, alleged that Reliance is dumping construction materials into several streams and creeks including a major creek, Mandara Kalva, at Gadimoga in East Godavari district.
The Venkataramana Matsyakara Sankshema Seva Sangham said the government allotted 87 hectares to Reliance to construct an offshore block to transport crude oil extracted from the KG basin. The land is situated within a prohibited zone near a bird sanctuary. The petitioner also alleged that Reliance has started construction activity beyond the 87 hectares, filling up creeks and streams and destroying mangrove forests. The court was told that a Coastal Regulatory Zone notification prohibited any interference with creeks near the shore. The petitioner urged the court to direct the respondents to remove the materials dumped in the creeks and other waterbodies. A division bench comprising Chief Justice A.R. Dave and Justice Meena Kumari directed the respondents to file their counter affidavits before February 13.

EC pulls up KCR for poll remarks

The Election Commission of India has expressed displeasure over the statements allegedly made by the TRS president, Mr K. Chandrasekhar Rao, during the by-election to the Karimnagar Lok Sabha constituency. The Election Commission filed an affidavit in the AP High Court on a petition filed by one K. Madhukar Reddy. He alleged that Mr Rao induced voters to take bribe to cast their vote. He urged the court to “debar and disqualify” Mr Rao from contesting elections.
Mr K.F. Wilfred, secretary of the EC, told the court that the statement of Mr Rao amounted to promoting bribery in elections. He said that the EC has decided to convey its displeasure to Dr Rao. He said the EC has warned Mr Rao not to repeat such acts in future. There was no provision to debar or disqualify a candidate, or to recover cost of election from him. Mr Ravishankar Jandhyala asked the High Court division bench comprising Chief Justice A.R. Dave and Justice Meena Kumari to expedite hearing on the petition.