Revised GO curbs compensation

HYDERABAD: Revenue principal secretary B.R. Meena again issued a revised order (GO Ms No.44, dated April 27, 2015) directing the Hyderabad collector not to pay any amount to reclaim the land since no amount was paid by the petitioners.

Within a month of becoming Chief Minister in June 2014, K. Chandrasekhar Rao initiated the exercise to take over encroached land.

The land was allotted to private parties by the previous Congress government in 2009 and there were complaints that then two city ministers Danam Nagender and Mukesh Goud allegedly brought pressure on the government in regularising the government land in favour of private parties.

The state government had allotted 3,831 sq. yards behind ENT Hospital a few decades ago to meet future expansion needs.

However, disputes over the land surfaced in the mid-2000s with some private individuals claiming ownership.

When the matter reached the city civil court, it was dismissed on the grounds that the petitioners could not provide adequate evidence.

Meanwhile, the individuals applied for transfer of rights on the basis of GO 166 (regularisation of government lands in possession of private properties).

The government issued three GOs 627, 628 and 629 in 2009 after the district level committee approved regularisation and prescribed fees of Rs.96,62,757.

This was contested by hospital authorities as wrongful regularisation. Later the government kept the orders in abeyance giving no scope for payment of regularisation fees due to pending court cases.