Journalists Housing Societys Plea to CM for Land Handover Amidst Lingering Delay

Hyderabad: The general body meeting of the Jawaharlal Nehru Journalists MAC Housing Society held on Sunday reiterated its appeal to Chief Minister
K. Chandrashekar Rao to direct the officials concerned to hand over 38 acres in Survey No. 25/2 of Pet Basheerabad to the society. The society had paid Rs 12.33 crore to the state government way back in 2011 for the 70 acres of land, it said.

The state government following the instructions of the Chief Minsiter, handed over 32 acres in Survey No. 332 of Nizampet in 2018. The Supreme Court on August 25, 2022, directed the state government to hand over the remaining 38 acres and not create any third party interest.

The society gave an August 10 deadline to the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA), the custodian of 38 acres in Pet Basheerabad, to remove encroachments on the land and initiate a process to resolve pending litigation over the land. The society decided to stage an indefinite sit-in at HMDA premises if the state agency failed to take action against the encroachers.

Several society members expressed concern over the delay in handing over Pet Basheerabad land. Nearly 60 members had died and hundreds were rendered jobless after the Covid-19 pandemic, and it was their long cherished dream to have a roof over their heads. The CM, who had been taking decisions favouring several sections of society including the village revenue assistants (VRAs) in the latest case, should approve the legitimate request of the journalists, they said.

The society thanked the CM for ordering the handing over of 32 acres in Nizampet to the society and filing an affidavit in the Supreme Court at a crucial time. “The CM is always positive towards our society. He vehemently opposed regional discrimination against members and treated members from Andhra and Telangana alike. The government will soon hand over 38 acres to our society,” said society vice-president Palle Ravi Kumar.

CEO N. Vamsi Srinivas briefed society members on the steps to be taken to safeguard the society’s interests. With the help of revenue officials, encroachments had been removed from the land in Nizampet, he said, adding that a similar exercise would be taken up to remove encroachments and resolve legal cases in Pet Basheerabad.

Committee members B.N. Jyothi Prasad and K. Ravikanth Reddy were present.