CM orders probe into Bhoodan land encroachments

Hyderabad: Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy has ordered a full-fledged probe into the encroachment of prime Bhoodan lands in the state. He took exception to the encroachment of 250 acres of Bhoodan lands in Yacharam village of Rangareddy district.

Revanth Reddy instructed the Secretary to the Revenue department, Lokesh Kumar, to submit a report on the status of the costly Bhoodan lands and illegal occupation in the Greater Hyderabad limits.

The state government had received a complaint that a pharma company had bought lands from the locals, who allegedly created forged documents. As per revenue records, the Bhoodan Trust owns the 250 acres of land that is valued at a staggering Rs 500 crore. In fact, the promoter has also paid compensation to the locals in the form of housing plots.

Officials said that yet another incident of creating forged documents and executing fraudulent sale deeds for approximately 103 acres located in Survey Nos. 181/1-6 and 182 in Nagaram had also came to light recently. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is already investigating the Bhoodan land scam, while the Telangana High Court has directed the state government to submit a report in this regard.

Following an increase in encroachment of Bhoodan lands in Greater Hyderabad limits, he instructed the Revenue wing to prepare a comprehensive report on the illegal occupation of lands in Yacharam and the status of other bhoodan lands in the city.

The state government was suspecting that the management of the Bhoodan Land Trust had colluded with revenue officials and sub registrars and selling the costly lands to corporate companies with forged documents. In some instances, the local political leaders have reportedly joined hands with the Trust and land revenue officials to gobble up the precious lands.