Hyderabad High Court allows Telangana to auction lands
‘The government was empowered to sell some of its lands to generate revenue’
Hyderabad: Upholding the land allotment and alienation policy of TS government, the Hyderabad High Court on Tuesday paved the way for the auction of prime government land parcels in Hyderabad and Ranga Reddy districts by TS Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (TSIIC), scheduled on Wednesday.
A division bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Dilip B. Bhosale and Justice S. Ravi Kumar, while expressing its disinclination to intervene in the policy, said that the government was empowered to sell some of its lands to generate revenue.
The bench was dismissing a PIL by the Forum for a Better Hyderabad represented by its secretary O.M. Debara, challenging the action of the state government in resorting to the sale and permanent alienation of government lands for resource mobilisation. K. Ramakrishna Reddy, advocate-general of TS, contended that Article 298 of the Constitution empowers states to auction land and the government has made rules in accordance with the Article.
The AG placed a GO issued on June 17, 2015 which allowed the government to auction public land and generate money rather than keeping them idle and allowing them to be encroached. The AG said after a study the government found that these land parcels are not required for any immediate public purpose.
Counsel for the petitioner contended that the claim that the proposed lands are not required for any public purpose was without basis.
Sex offender’s bail plea rejected
Justice Raja Elango of the Hyderabad High Court on Tuesday refused bail to Kalakanda Madhu, accused of assaulting young girls by luring them on the pretext of providing jobs.
It may be recalled that officers of the ‘SHE’ Team and Cyber Crime police arrested Madhu, 33, on charges of sexually harassing over 300 girls.
D. Rami Reddy, additional public prosecutor, opposed the bail, saying that the petitioner has assaulted over 300 girls, particularly students of SSC and Intermediate by downloading their personal details through the Internet and falsely introducing himself as an education counselor.
No FIR issued on Tadwai encounter
The TS government on Tuesday informed the HC that the Warangal police have not issued any FIR on the Tadwai encounter on the complaint lodged by mother of Sruthi, alleged Maoist killed in the encounter.