The Telangana High Court on Wednesday, June 28, stayed the allotment of land by the state government to two caste groups, Velamas and Kammas, to build community Bhavans. In an interim order, the court stayed the Government Order (GO 47), issued in 2021, allotting two land parcels of five acres each to the two caste groups.
A division bench of Chief Justice Ujjal Bhuyan and Justice N Tukaramji ruled that the GO will be stayed until further orders and ordered not that no work be continued in the said lands as it adjourned the hearing to August 2.
The bench was hearing a public interest litigation filed by Kakatiya University's retired Professor A Vinayak Reddy challenging the allotment of lands. The government had allotted a plot adjacent to HiTec City road and abutting the National Academy of Construction (NAC) road in Khanamet village to the All India Velama Association and another site abutting the road to Ayyappa Society to the Kamma Vari Seva Sanghala Samakya.
The petitioner argued that these two communities were among the wealthiest in the state. His counsel submitted to the court that the market value of the allotted land is exceptionally high. While the government estimated the value of one acre at Rs 50 crore, the market value is much higher than this, he argued.
The bench held that there is no rationale in providing land free of caste to dominant caste groups. It observed that the allotment of land to caste groups was against the orders issued in the past by the Supreme Court.
The court was of the view that land could be allotted to the poor, SCs and STs but there was no justification for allotting land free of cost to powerful caste groups. It observed that such an allotment is a kind of encroachment.