Telangana lands in a rut over acquisitions

Hyderabad: The TS government’s flip-flop on land acquisition policy has resulted in an inordinate delay in execution of projects, which in turn has resulted in lower Budget spending.

The government’s orders on land acquisition, that were revised thrice following intense protests from farmers, had turned controversial besides encountering legal setbacks.

Finally, the TS government brought its own Land Acquisition Act in December 2016. However, this Act is yet to get the President’s nod.

The government brought GO 123 in 2015 for speedy acquisition of land for irrigation projects in the place of Centre’s Land Acquisition Act, 2013.

However, GO 123 faced stiff opposition from farmers right in CM’s home district Medak where the tillers refused to give away their land for construction of Mallannasagar project.

With Opposition parties and TJAC backing farmers, the situation turned volatile, forcing a halt to the project for over a year now. Besides, GO 123 also faced legal hurdles after High Court quashed it.

This forced the TS government to bring its own Land Acquisition Act which it believes can stand legal scrutiny.

The TS Legislature passed the Act during winter session in December 2016 amid protests from the Opposition.

The Act has been sent to Centre for approval. After Centre gives its nod, it will be sent to President for final approval.

Though it’s been over a month since it was passed in Assembly, the Act still awaits the President’s nod.

Unless the Act comes into force in the state after President’s nod, it would be difficult to speed up land acquisition for irrigation projects.

The government needs to acquire nearly 2 lakh acres for projects and the irrigation Budget spending in the coming year too would largely depend on how fast the government can proceed with acquisitions.