Hyderabad: The TS and AP governments are yet to identify ‘vanished’ Bhoodan lands that are worth Rs 7,200 crore. According to records available with the Bhoodan Board, landlords in erstwhile AP have donated 1.95 lakh acres during the Bhoodan Movement in 1965, in which land was voluntarily surrendered by landlords who were persuaded by Acharya Vinoba Bhave.
The movement began from Pochampally - which is famous for its handlooms - in Yadadri district. The village’s name was later changed to Bhoodan Pochampally.
During the Bhoodan movement and later, about 1.12 lakh acres of land was distributed to 42,199 families of whom 12,832 were tribals. The rest stayed with the Bhoodan Board.
For decades, governments have been trying to identify these 72,000 acres of land donated by donors such as Vedire Ramachandra Reddy, the first person to donate his land.
Records show that 414 acres were donated in Hyderabad and 21,509 in Ranga Reddy district, where the land value now is between Rs 1 crore and Rs 14 crore per acre respectively. A majority of the Bhoodan lands that have gone 'missing' are in united Ranga Reddy, Hyderabad, Nalgonda, Khammam and Nizamabad districts in Telangana state.
When Y.S. Rajashekar Reddy was Chief Minister, the government constituted a committee chaired by Koneru Ranga Rao to identify the Bhoodan lands parcels. Mr Jairam Ramesh, then Union minister, promised to introduce fast-track tribunals to settle Bhoodan land disputes.
The committee estimated that about 72,000 acres of land had 'disappeared', or rather, was illegally occupied. The government put the report on the back burner and no attempt was made to recover the lands from the encroachers.
Land records
Bhoodan land, according to records with the AP and TS governments.
Adilabad 11,282 acres
Hyderabad 414
Karimnagar 9,202
Khammam 30,702
Mahbubnagar 41,771
Medak 5,507
Nalgonda 28,105
Nizamabad 2,049
Ranga Reddy 21,509
Warangal 20,792
Anantapur 2,683
Chittoor 2,140
Kadapa 5,529
East Godavari 4,103
Guntur 9
Krishna 185
Kurnool 714
Nellore 2,119
Prakasam 162
Srikakulam 70
Visakhapatnam 536
West Godavari 5,848 acres
Total: 1,95,509 ac
Encroachments over time
144.26 acres - Bhoodan land in Saidabad Kancha and Ibrahimpatnam was encroached three years ago. During the Governor’s administration, revenue officials modified the original documents
16.32 acres - was encroached in Batasingaram Survey No. 319 of Hayatnagar mandal. The task force recommended criminal actions against the then Bhoodan board secretary and the then sarpanch of Batasingaram.
10 acres - of government land was encroached in Survey No. 52/8 of Turkyamjal in Hayatnagar mandal of Ranga Reddy district in which the committee recommended take action against the then mandral revenue officer and mandal revenue inspector for intentionally missing files and issued a no-objection certificate on May 12, 2014.
249.38 acres - of government land was encroached in 2006 at Tellapur near RC Puram under Medak district. Land grabbers purchased 76.39 acre of patta land which lies alongside the government land and encroached on it with the help of then village sarpanch Lingala Kistaiah.
10.25 acres - In Patancheru, Medak district, of government land was encroached.
192.22 acres - In Ammenpur under Patancheru mandal in Sangareddy district, of government land was encroached with the help of then mandal revenue officer and other officials.
P.S. Prasad alias Goldstone Prasad with the support of sub-registrars and revenue staff encroached hundreds of acres in Hafeezpet, Miyapur and Hasmathpet.
Tahsildhar Rama Krishnaiah colluded with land grabbers to encroach 119 acres of prime land worth Rs 800 crore near Ammuguda under Government Land Record No. 243 of Secunderabad Cantonment Board.
Tahsildhar from Uppal was suspended for illegally mutating land to a private party near Uppal stadium last year.
After the bifurcation of AP, the TS government appointed a revenue task force committee chaired by retired IAS officer S.K. Sinha to identify encroached government land.
Based on reports submitted by Mr Sinha, the government took action against Bhoodan Board chairman G. Rajendra Reddy and other revenue officials for encroachment of the land.
An official in the revenue department said that the department was still focusing on the lands and cases. “In Ranga Reddy district alone we are fighting for encroached land worth Rs1 lakh crore. About 10,081 acres of Bhoodan land is yet to be identified in AP and TS,” the official said.
