Real estate ventures unabated in 1/1970 areas in Coal town

Kothagudem: Hundreds of real estate ventures are coming up around Kothagudem, district headquarters of the Kothagudem-Bhadradri district in spite of the 1/70 Land Regulation Act being in operation.

Realtors are buying land from the tribals, which is not allowed under the act, dividing it into plots and selling them. The new owners of the plots are buildiing houses without getting it registered. It is stated that both parties are aware that the practice is illegal.

The deals are done on white paper. The government machinery is merely a spectator, allowing the illegal transactions to continue unhindered.

All land in Kothagudem and its surroundings either belongs to the Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) or comes under 1/1970 Land Regulation Act, sources said. Real estate ventures are coming up at Sarvaram, Chunchupalli, Hemachandrapuram, Garibupet, Chatakonda and Vidyanagar Colony in Laxmidevipalli and Chunchupalli mandals.

Thousands of acres in the coal town under the control of SCCL have been encroached upon, sources said. The residents were allowed as the company needs hundreds of labourers to work in the mines. The coal town was formed by people coming from various areas to work in the SCCL.

Later, the residents demanded that the government regularise their lands and houses. Successive governments have given pattas to the dwellers and house tax is being collected from them.

The One of 1970 Land Regulation Act was brought in to prohibit that land transactions in specified areas involving non-tribals. Under the Act, a non-tribal cannot trade in the land in the specified areas, which a tribal can.

There is a large influx of people from the mandals to Kothagudem after the Bhadradri-Kothagudem district was formed. There is no private land to accommodate these newcomers. To fulfil the demand, real estate dealers are buying land parcels from the tribals, marking out plots and selling them.

A real estate person, who married a tribal woman bought land from tribals on her name, broke it up into plots and sold them.

B. Arun Kumar, an expert in real estate matters, said, “It is a matter of relief to the plot owners after they construct a house on a vacant site. They can get the house number and property tax will be collected. It is the first document on his land. People are buying these lands keeping the facility in view.”