Khajaguda lands row: PIL plea by Cong MLAs opens can of worms

Hyderabad: The public interest litigation (PIL) plea filed against the government by four Congress MLAs who are objecting to a major construction project envisaged on 27-acre parcel of land in Khajaguda seems to have opened a can of worms, while intensifying group politics within the party.

Three MLAs from Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy’s native district of erstwhile Mahbubnagar, besides another from Mahbubabad have proved to be thorn in the flesh of the party leadership. According to party sources, the MLAs -Janampalli Anirudh Reddy (Jadcherla), Yennam Srinivas Reddy (Mahbubnagar), Murali Naik Bhukya (Mahbubabad) and Kuchkulla Rajesh Reddy (Nagarkurnool) - have caused a major embarrassment to the party with their unilateral action.

Noticeably, this development comes within months after Anirudh Reddy allegedly hosted a ‘secret meeting’.

This was to chalk out a plan of action after getting offended over Revenue Minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy’s response to their requests. They alleged that the Minister had disregarded their persistent pleas to clear pending bills. The MLAs mostly from composite districts of Warangal, Nalgonda and Mahbubnagar held a meeting on January 31, sending ripples through the party.

Interestingly, the two other MLAs, representing Nagarkurnool and Mahbubnagar were present on that night, besides scores of others. Initially, the issue seemed to have died out following the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) meeting held within a week. However, with Anirudh Reddy and his team of MLAs, approaching the High Court on the issue of Khajaguda lands in question, matters have complicated for the Congress party, which is gearing up for polls to local bodies. In their plea, they have argued that their aim is to protect natural resources and preserve water bodies. They claimed that in all eight towers with a total plinth area of 50 lakh square feet were being built on the disputed government land.

Following the PIL plea, the High Court has issued notices to several government authorities, including the state government, the Principal Secretary of Revenue, the Ranga Reddy District Collector, the GHMC, the HMDA, and HYDRAA, seeking their responses to the allegations raised in the plea.