Subscribe
Follow TNM's WhatsApp channel for news updates and story links.
The Telangana High Court on Monday, July 20, directed the Hyderabad Disaster Response and Asset Protection Agency (HYDRAA) not to initiate any action on 26.08 acres of land in Shamshabad area’s Bahadurguda until further orders, granting temporary relief to the petitioners challenging the proposed intervention.
The Congress-led Telangana government is in the process of acquiring approximately 650 acres of land in Survey Nos. 28 and 62 in Bahadurguda for a proposed bullet train project hub. Following demonstrations against the land acquisition, several farmers were detained by the police.
The petitioners alleged that on July 18, HYDRAA officials entered the land with bulldozers and JCBs, demolished entrance gates, and erected fences. Appearing for the petitioners, senior advocate V Raghunath submitted that the farmers had been in possession of the 26.03 acres since 1989-1990 after purchasing it through registered sale deeds and had been cultivating crops there for decades. He contended that the state government was dispossessing the petitioners from their patta lands without issuing any prior notice or following due process.
Advocate General Sudershan Reddy opposed the petition, arguing that the claimants failed to establish ownership as they did not submit key land records. He also said that the survey details were inconsistent and asserted that around 650 acres of government land had been identified for the proposed high-speed rail corridor.
Justice B Vijaysen Reddy passed an order stopping HYDRAA and revenue officials from taking any coercive measures including demolition.
The next hearing in the case has been posted for August 11.
