Telangana HC orders status quo on Prashant Hills land dispute in Raidurg

Court demands explanation from Telangana Chief Secretary regarding land claims and NOC processes in Prashant Hills case.

The Telangana High Court has directed the state government to maintain the status quo on the lands in Prashant Hills at Raidurg in Serilingampally mandal.

Justice CV Bhaskar Reddy asked chief secretary A Santhi Kumari to file a counter affidavit by November 28 regarding the nature and classification of the lands forming part of survey No. 66/2, explaining how the district collector issued no-objection certificates (NOCs) to private individuals for the disputed lands.

The judge also inquired whether the government has reverted its claim over the land or is still asserting ownership.

The judge was addressing a petition filed by Allagadda Chennamma, who challenged the action of the Rangareddy district collector dated September 4, 2023, which involved issuing a NOC for a plot within the survey number.

The petitioner noted that survey No. 66 encompasses 279 acres and 22 guntas, and after subdivision, survey No. 66/2 consists of 45 acres of land that has been declared as government land.

Chennamma stated that Naga Society obtained a decree from a court, which was upheld by the Supreme Court.

However, she argued that the decree-holder should approach the executing court for enforcement rather than seeking action from the district collector. Based on the collector’s report, the government issued orders for identifying and localizing the land, which she contested in her petition.

Justice Reddy questioned how the collector could issue NOCs for these plots and under what authority he conducted surveys on them.