HC orders compensation to farmer deprived of land

Justice M S Ramachandra Rao of the High Court at Hyderabad issued direction to the Collector of Chittoor to pay compensation to a farmer‘s family which had lost its land over sixteen years ago .

The land was taken for providing drinking water facility to the people of Kuppam Panchayat in the constituency of AP’s Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu.

The compensation should be paid under the provisions of the “Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013” the judge said.

The judge made the order in a writ plea filed by V Munirajulu, a resident of Kuppam village, challenging the action of the authorities in taking over his land of 0. 45 cents located in Chinna Kurabalapalli village under Kuppam mandal of Chittoor district over a decade and half ago without following due process of law.

The petitioner complained that the Revenue authorities requested him and his mother at a meeting held in the village in the year 2000 to give up their land for establishing Water Filter Point to provide drinking water facility for the people of Kuppam in exchange for two acres of alternative land.

Several visits to the Collectorate proved futile the petitioner said. In his verdict, Justice Ramachander ruled that the petitioner cannot be compelled to accept the said land against his wish and in this view of the matter, there was no alternative except to direct the Collector and Tahsildar to initiate proceedings for acquisition of land.