HYDERABAD: A year after 80 acres of Bhoodan land and private land worth over 1,500 crore was allegedly encroached upon in Kuntloor near Hayathnagar and with squatters raising 3,000 huts, CPI leaders, including MLA Kunamneni Sambasiva Rao, met chief minister A Revanth Reddy a few days ago and urged him to regularise the encroachments and hand over pattas to them.
The CM reportedly told the CPI delegation that if the parcel was under Bhoodan land, the govt would consider their demand and if it’s a private land, the govt may not help. There has been a dispute over the land for several years.
Some local politicians reportedly encouraged the poor people to erect the huts ahead of the Nov 2023 assembly polls and some even sold the land (40 square yards) for 30,000 and 50 square yards for 50,000 to allow them to erect the huts.
The squatters with the support of some leaders even constructed tanks, bathrooms and mud roads to make the encroachments permanent. Some leaders are guarding the land suspecting that authorities may remove the squatters.
CPI state executive member Ravindra Chary said that over 5,000 huts have been erected by the poor and some others in the name of KCR weaker sections colony collected sums from the people. “We are working for the poor, who are homeless in the city,” he said.
Chary alleged that some persons grabbed the Bhoodan land with fake documents and 40 houses came up in the colony, which were bulldozed later. He hoped for a positive decision from the govt on regularising these encroachments.
Official sources said nearly 100 acres of the land in survey numbers 215 to 224 in Palaiahguda, a hamlet of Kuntloor, is being claimed by both the Bhoodan Board and some private pattadars. The revenue authorities said that as many as 20 cases were pending in various courts claiming ownership over the land.
Interestingly, some pattas were given away by the Bhoodan Board, which is now being questioned. Apart from some private pattadars, KCR weak-er sections colony association raised some constructions.
Land claimants said some persons with the support of a political party started grabbing their land since Jan 2023 and they approached high court to prevent the mobs from erecting huts and tents.
The tahsildar of Abdullapurmet tried to remove the encroachments but in vain during the assembly elections.
“The high court gave instructions to the revenue divisional officer of Ibrahimpatnam to remove the huts under CrPC section 145 and protect the land. Since RDO has not taken any action, a contempt petition was also filed in the high court,” a senior revenue official recalled.
