Sunday, Sep 14, 2003
Sunday, Sep 14, 2003 |
| Southern States | ||||
|
News:
Front Page |
National |
Southern States |
Other States |
International |
Opinion |
Business |
Sport |
Miscellaneous |
Advts: Classifieds | Employment | Obituary | Southern States
-
Andhra Pradesh
By K. Venkateshwarlu
The Government has taken a definitive step to restore their rights over the land on which a senior Telugu Desam leader, V. Tulasiram, had parked himself. Acting belatedly on the High Court orders and recommendations of a House Committee, the Ranga Reddy District Collector has written to the Secretary, Revenue Department, requesting appropriate orders by the Chief Commissioner of Land Administration (CCLA), the designated "Jagir Administrator,'' in compliance with court directions. In effect it means 180 farmers, who were in occupation of the 252-acre erstwhile Jagir land, will get back after over two decades of litigation, their occupancy rights, denied to them by the Telugu Desam leader. He had been claiming ownership over the land, contending that he had bought it on his and his family members names, from the Jagirdar, Syed Shahabuddin Hussaini. When questions were raised on how he could buy Jagir land, after the abolition of Jagirs, he changed tune, saying it was patta land belonging to the jagirdar. The issue dates back to the late 1940s when the Hyderabad (Abolition of Jagirs) Regulation came into effect and the then Military Governor, J N Choudhri, and the then Jagir Administrator, L. N. Gupta, ordered transfer of Jagir lands to the Government. The Jagir lands in Sultanpalli too were transferred and based on 10 years' annual income, the Jagir Administrator passed commutation award of Rs. 60,000. The Jagirdar's legal heirs, Syed Shahabuddin Hussaini and two others were paid the amount. But against the settlement records, in which it was clearly mentioned that no Jagirdar of Sultanpalli had held patta or cultivated any land in the village, the Additional Collector held it was a "patta land of jagirdars.'' This was questioned before the Board of Revenue. The Board reversed the order of the Additional Collector and in 1951, held the lands as part of Jagir and not patta lands of Jagirdar. A revision petition was preferred, which was dismissed by the Government in 1952. A long legal battle began when some residents of the village filed a petition in A.P .High Court in 1986, seeking direction to the revenue authorities to permit them to be in possession of the lands. They were asked to approach the Government for the same, in view of the House Committee enquiry and report. It was at this point that Mr. Tulasiram filed petition in the High Court challenging the report of the House Committee but later withdrew it. From then on the case took twists and turns till the High Court ruled in favour of the Government in 2002. P. Srinivasulu Naidu, Member of the State Secretariat of the CPI, who was behind the long struggle of the occupants, wondered why the Government was hesitating to take appropriate action, restoring occupancy rights when there were clear directions from the High Court and finding by the House Committee that it was a Government land. Such usurpation of Government land was but only the tip of the iceberg. He said large extents of Government land in Madanapalli, Narkoda, Jukal, Shamshabad and Gaganpahad on either side of the Hyderabad-Banglore highway close to the proposed site of the international airport were being taken over by private parties by fraudulent means.
Printer friendly
page
News:
Front Page |
National |
Southern States |
Other States |
International |
Opinion |
Business |
Sport |
Miscellaneous |
|
|
|
The Hindu Group: Home | About Us | Copyright | Archives | Contacts | Subscription Group Sites: The Hindu | Business Line | The Sportstar | Frontline | The Hindu eBooks | Home |
Copyright © 2003, The
Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of
this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of
The Hindu
|
