Govt land row: Telangana high court to hear PIL over 27 acres; worth Rs 2,000 cr, now with builders

HYDERABAD: In a case with far-reaching implications for urban land governance, the Telangana high court on Monday agreed to hear a public interest litigation filed by four Congress MLAs, who alleged that 27 acres of prime govt land in Khajaguda, worth over 2,000 crore, had been illegally handed over to private realty developers.The land, located in survey No. 27/2 of Khajaguda village in Serilingampally mandal, is allegedly being developed into a massive high-rise project by private builders. The petitioners urged the court to direct the state govt to reclaim the land and halt ongoing construction activities, which they claim are environmentally damaging and based on fraudulent claims.The PIL, filed by MLAs, J Anirudh Reddy (Jadcherla), Yennam Srinivas Reddy (Mahbubnagar), Murali Naik Bhukya (Mahabubabad), and K Rajesh Reddy (Nagarkurnool), accuses officials of allowing the land to slip into private hands despite govt land records dating back to the 1950s clearly establishing it as public property.

A bench, comprising Acting Chief Justice Sujoy Paul and Justice Renuka Yara, permitted advocate Chikkudu Prabhakar, counsel for the MLAs, to serve personal notices to key private parties .

On June 16, when the matter was first listed, the court directed the petitioners to provide a fresh, detailed representation to state authorities, including exact survey numbers and maps of the land in question.In compliance, the MLAs submitted a formal representation to chief secretary, principal secretary (revenue), and heads of departments, including GHMC, HMDA, RERA, CCLA, and the Pollution Control Board, laying out their objections and providing documentary evidence. They alleged that not only was the govt land transferred unlawfully, but construction activities near Kotha Cheruvu lake also posed serious environmental risks by blocking natural water channels and destroying green space.

The high court has asked private respondents to file counters and listed case for hearing after two weeks.