Justice B. Vijaysen Reddy on Friday passed an order staying the notification for acquiring 102.13 acres of land in Mutrajpally of Gajwel in Siddipet district for Rehabilitation and Resettlement (R&R) colony for the families displaced for Mallanna Sagar reservoir.
The judge gave the direction in a writ petition filed by a social worker and farmer Cheruku Srinivas Reddy. Mallanna Sagar reservoir is part of the State government’s Kaleshwaram lift irrigation project. Families of eight villages got displaced due to construction of the reservoir.
The government wanted to construct R&R colony, with double bedroom independent houses, in the villages of Mutrajpally and Sangapur villages for these displaced families. In January of 2021, the government issued a preliminary notification for acquiring the land for R&R colony.
Petitioner’s counsel G. Rajashekhar Reddy contended that the notification cannot be accepted as it was not related to acquiring lands for construction of the project. The notification is aimed at securing land for building houses for displaced families, the lawyer said.
It was also in contravention of the earlier orders issued by the HC, counsel argued. The notification got rescinded in January 22 as per section 19 (7) of the Land Acquisition Act-2013. However, the government extended the notification period with a pre-dated order in May 2022, the lawyer contended.
Mr. Reddy told the court that despite availability of government lands in the vicinity of Mutrajpally village, the authorities mooted proposals to acquire lands of farmers to build houses for the families of farmers displaced for construction of the reservoir. This was not fair and against the law, he said.
