Telangana HC asks govt to revoke allotment of lands to IT firms
Hyderabad: In a significant development, the Telangana High Court has directed the state government to take back the lands allotted to companies who have failed to set up their units on it.
The court order named several firms Indu Techzone Private Limited, Brahmani Infratech Private Limited, Stargaze Properties Private Limited among a few others who had promised to establish their businesses but have not started the construction on the allocated land yet. The land parcels were allocated to these companies from 2001 to 2006.
A bench of Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice J. Sreenivas Rao pronounced the order after hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by the Campaign for Housing and Tenural Rights (CHATRI). It also instructed the government to complete the cancellation of the allotted lands made to these companies if they fail to commence the operations in the next four months.
In 2007, CHATRI, a non-profit organization, challenged the allotment of government lands to private companies on a nomination basis without following the due procedure to conduct public tenders or auction. The PIL stated that the former the Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (APIIC) had allotted 4,156 acres and 81 guntas of government land to the respondents in and around Hyderabad.
The petitioner found fault with the allocation of government land by the APIIC to the selected companies, arguing the public resources should be used to benefit the community at large. Highlighting the lack of competitive bidding process, the petitioner submitted in the court that allocation of lands to these companies were made by violating the constitutional principles.
