HYDERABAD: Revenue Minister Dharmana Prasada Rao has ruled out the appointment of a sitting High Court Judge to inquire into land acquisitions for the Outer Ring Road Project, as the court is not willing to spare judges for such purposes.

The Minister received a memorandum from a delegation of leaders of the Left parties here on Wednesday seeking an inquiry by a sitting judge and not a retired one. He said the Government had in the past requested the Chief Justice of the High Court to appoint judges for inquiries but he expressed inability to do so. The delegation comprised C. Venkat Reddy (floor leader), K. Ramakrishna of CPI, D. G. Narasimha Rao and K. Goverdhan, State committee members of the CPI (M) and the CPI-ML (New Democracy).

`Growth Corridor'

Mr. Prasada Rao felt that a probe by the sitting-judge would be redundant as several petitions on the alleged irregularities were already being dealt with by the High Court. In 21 out of the 26 cases disposed of so far, the verdicts had gone in favour of the Government showing that there were no shady deals in land acquisitions.

Opposition demand

With the Government's deciding to order CBI and judicial probe into the alleged irregularities in the land acquisition, the opposition parties continued their demand for a comprehensive inquiry into the charges for bringing out the facts.

While the BJP wanted an inquiry by a sitting Supreme Court judge, the TRS went a step ahead in demanding the dismissal of Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy for an impartial probe.

A TRS delegation led by A. Narendra, MP, met Governor Rameshwar Thakur and impressed upon him that the CBI and judicial probe could not be conducted in a fair and impartial manner unless Dr. Reddy stepped down or was dismissed. At a press conference, former BJP president M. Venkaiah Naidu demanded an enquiry by a Supreme Court judge into the alleged irregularities.Government Chief Whip N. Kiran Kumar Reddy and MLA Malreddy Ranga Reddy told reporters that the media reports were an attempt to defame Dr. Reddy.

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