Hyderabad: For a change, scores of bureaucrats of Telangana on Saturday had a taste of state agencies' bulldozing, high-handedness and going ahead with its task in gross violation of High Court orders.
And, there is more to it. These babus have been subjected to arm-twisting by one of the state agencies, Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority, which allegedly foisted police cases against them for what they called raising their voice against injustice.
The bureaucrats accuse their colleague and MA&UD special CS Arvind Kumar, who is also HMDA commissioner, of violating the court orders and are all set to press contempt charges against him. “It is at his behest the road is being formed across our lay out,” they allege. “We have always been threatened that stopping the road work would anger MA&UD minister K.T. Rama Rao but our version was never heard,” they added.
The bureaucrats, who are all members of AdarshNagar Mutually Aided Coop Housing Society, have been opposing the formation of a 100-feet road across their land by the HMDA without following the due procedure. The road connects Lanco Hills with Outer Ring Road and provides an easier approach to one of the largest gated communities proposed in the area. The society bought nearly 45 acres from the government on payment of market value way back in 2008 but could not develop a layout due to legal tangles.
Documentary evidence available with Deccan Chronicle revealed that the society filed a writ petition, 19466 of 2022, against the formation of road and Justice Kanneganti Lalitha issued “status quo in all respects” last April, and asked HMDA to file counter affidavits.
The interesting story has another typical bureaucratic ingredient in it — violating court orders on Saturday and Sunday so that the other party cannot approach the court. Accompanied by the HMDA officials and local police, the road contractor gained forcible entry into society land and started levelling it first on Friday evening and again on Saturday.
“We are not against formation of the road but HMDA should follow due procedure. As we would be losing considerable extent of land, the HMDA should either pay compensation or allot alternative land,” said a board director of the society.
He found fault with HMDA for treating it as government land pending the SC case and argued that the society paid full sale consideration and got land registered in its name.
While the High Court set aside the allotment of land to the society, the Supreme Court stayed the HC order and subsequently, allowed the society to develop the layout. “It is wrong to classify the land as government and high-handedly form the road,” pointed out another society member.
Several members of the society, including senior IAS and IPS officials, rushed to the spot on Friday evening when they were informed by the security guards about the illegal entry. Though the works were stopped, the contractor resumed the same on Saturday forcing its members Beneher Ekka, K. Srinivas Reddy and Rajeev Ratan to rush to the spot again, along with their legal counsel, and stop the work, showing court order. There were heated arguments between the two parties, resulting in the filing of cases against the bureaucrats.
Society president Vikas Raj, who is Chief Electoral Officer, was not available for comment.
