Hyderabad: The Centre has sought clarifications in the Telangana State Land Acquisition Act passed by the Legislature in December 2016 before sending it to the President for approval.
While an Act passed by a state legislature is supposed to be sent to the President from the Union law ministry directly, the Centre has decided to discuss the Act with the Union Cabinet first.
The Centre believes that there could be legal problems arising out of the fact that the Act is deemed to have come into force prior to the formation of TS, while it was approved by the Legislature in December 2016.
TS was formed on June 2, 2014, but the Act was passed in December 2016 with retrospective effect from January 1, 2014.
The TS government had expected the President’s assent to be only a formality and completed within a month. Instead, it has been three months now and the objections raised by the Centre seems to suggest it will take longer to get Presidential nod.
“Already three clarifications have been sought on the Act. We have sent our explanation. But there is no response from the Centre whether our explanation has been approved,” say sources.
State questioned on land G.O.
The clarifications also pertain to why the Act was brought into force even before TS was formed, why the government was still trying to acquire lands under controversial GO 123 despite it being challenged in the courts, and why did the government issue another government order, GO 38, in February this year to acquire lands in addition to GO 123.
The Centre is learnt to have expressed doubts about the intentions of the TS government in issuing GOs even after passing the Act.
The Centre has brought to the notice of the TS government that though Gujarat amended the Act, that was done in order to acquire 5,000 acres for a drinking water project, while in Telangana, nearly 2 lakh acres are being acquired for irrigation and thermal projects.
