Committee submits report on encroachment by Etala, kin

HYDERABAD: A committee formed to look into alleged land encroachments by former TRS minister Etala Rajendar on Tuesday submitted a report of their inquiry, with sources indicating that the committee found encroachment of around 18 acres by the former minister, his family members and benamis.

The inquiry pertains to the alleged encroachment of endowment land parcels belonging to Sri Seetha Rama Swamy temple in Devaryamjal village under Shamirpet mandal of Medchal-Malkajgiri district.

The committee, headed by agriculture commissioner M. Raghunandan Rao, who was the PR&RD (panchayat raj and rural development) commissioner at the time of its institution, submitted the report to Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar, who passed it on to Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao.

Officials remained tight-lipped about the findings of the committee, even as sources said that the report concluded that the 1,352 acres in question belonged to the temple and recommended action to clear encroachments.

The committee reportedly found about 160 illegal constructions on the land, mostly godowns and guest houses.

Rajendar's family members reportedly constructed seven godowns on these lands, across 6.28 acres, without permission from the departments concerned. Godowns across 12 acres were allegedly constructed by his benamis, sources indicated.

In May 2021, the Chief Minister directed the formation of two inquiry committees to probe alleged land encroachments by Rajendar and his family members, after he was sacked from the State Cabinet.

The first committee, headed by Medak collector S. Harish, was to inquire into the alleged encroachment of assigned lands in Achampet and Masaipet mandals of Medak by Jamuna Hatcheries, owned by Rajender’s family members.

The second committee, headed by Raghunandan Rao, comprising IAS officers Prashanth Jeevan Patil, Bharathi Holikeri and Swetha Mohanty, was set up to probe Devaryamjal temple land encroachments.

The Harish committee reportedly found that Rajendar's poultry farm had encroached into 85 acres of assigned lands belonging to 65 allottees.