Setback for Telangana government on its land acquisition policy

Hyderabad: The Hyderabad High Court on Wednesday threw a spanner in the works of Telangana government’s land acquisition policy, when it questioned the rationale for creating a new land acquisition law while the previous one was still valid.

The government had brought out GO. 123 through which it made settlements for acquiring private land from farmers. Dissatisfied with many ‘loopholes’ in the GO 123, certain farmers from Rudrangi in Karimnagar approached the High Court.

The High Court which sat down to examine the case, questioned the government on the need to bring out a new Act, when the Land Acquisition Act of 2013 was already in place.

It ruled in favour of the plaintiffs who argued that GO. 123 sought to compensate the land owners alone and did not pay heed to the landless labour who worked the land for their livelihood.

The High Court ordered that the compensation must be awarded according to the Land Acquisition Act of 2013 alone. The court’s order will most likely put the Telangana government on the back foot as it will have repercussions on the land acquisition for Mallannasagar and other such projects.