Hyderabad: The Telangana High Court on Wednesday reprimanded the state government for its negligence to curtail encroachment of vacant lands earmarked for parks, ponds, lakes, bunds, which are being used for raising religious structures illegally.
The Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Raghavendra Singh Chauhan and Justice A. Abhishek Reddy came down heavily on the government for not coming up with a firm policy for dealing with illegal encroachers, who are intruding into the these lands and raising religious structures.
Aggrieved by the action of the Madhavapuri Hills Devalaya Committee, Ameenpur, Sangareddy, the Human Rights and Consumer Protection Cell Trust (NGO), filed a PIL seeking action against the illegal encroaching into the land earmarked for a park, Rock Garden, and raising a temple without obtaining permissions from the concerned departments. The Bench passed several observations pointing out the callous attitude of the government in not protecting the vacant lands.
Chief Justice Chauhan posed a series of questions to Mr Arvind Kumar, IAS, Principal Secretary of Municipal Administration, Mr Sandeep Kumar Sultania, Principal Secret-ary of Panchayat Raj and other officials, including Sangareddy district collector Mr Hanumantha Rao, who were present before the court, as per its earlier directions.
The Chief Justice said, “Going by the fact that there are nearly 40 PILs filed in the High Court on this menace of illegal encroachment of lands pertaining to lakes, ponds, vacant government lands etc., this Court opines that the Telangana government is evincing scant interest in protecting its own lands and the state needs to take a very strong and firm stand on protecting its lands.”
Further, he said, “Notwithstanding whatever religious sentiments attach-ed to a particular religious’ structure, it is the State that gives wings to the illegal encroachers to raise religious structures, when it is not acting harshly against the illegal encroachers in the garb of the religion, people cannot be permitted to go amok by raising illegal religious structures.” “The State cannot buckle under any pressure if the Telangana government does not implement the law, then who else will do it. The court is surprising why the state is taking the weak stand on this issue. No illegal structures to be permitted in the garb of religious sentiments. I expect the Telangana government can implement the policy like in the state Rajasthan for get rid of all such of illegal religious raisings,” Chief Justice Chauhan observed. The case was adjourned to March 16 for further hearing.
