‘File counter in Suryapet collectorate land case’

HYDERABAD:A division bench of the High Court on Tuesday directed the Telangana government to file a counter affidavit to a PIL which challenged the government’s decision to construct an integrated district collectorate complex on a private land at Kudakuda and Bebigudem villages in Suryapet district. It also directed the petitioner to file an additional affidavit stating that he is the spokesman of the state Congress party.

Meanwhile, Congress MLA Komatireddy Venkat Reddy, who was recently expelled from the Assembly, filed a miscellaneous petition seeking to implead in the case. The bench of acting chief justice Ramesh Ranganathan and justice K Vijaya Lakshmi was dealing with a PIL filed by Chakilam Rajeshwar Rao from Suryapet challenging the action of the authorities in taking steps to construct a district collectorate office on private land instead of on available government land at Suryapet. The petitioner’s counsel submitted that the respondent, Sri Sai Developers, belonging to a relative of the Suryapet municipal chairman, had purchased lands in the above said two villages and with an intention to increase their land value and district revenue officials mooted construction of the collectorate on the private land by acquiring it. The planning was done at the behest of G Jagadishwar Reddy, energy minister and the private land was far away from Suryapet, the district headquarters, he pointed out and urged the court to stay all further constructions on the subject land.

On an earlier occasion, the bench had directed the government to furnish the note file on GO 230 according permission to purchase private lands for office construction. AAG J Ramachandra Rao said that the petitioner had suppressed the vital information that he was the official spokesman of the Congress.