Telangana HC issues notice to K Chandrasekhar Rao over land allotment for TRS office

The Telangana high court issued notices to TRS chief K Chandrasekhar Rao and top officials in the government after hearing a petition challenging the allotment of prime real estate parcels at a throwaway price to the ruling party.

The government had last month allotted 4,935 square yards of land to the TRS on Road No. 12 in the posh Banjara Hills for the construction of its district party office. The land was assigned as per the provisions of a 2018 order.

The Opposition Congress and the BJP had protested Rao’s move, alleging that the land parcel was worth about Rs 100 crore. Congress had even threatened a mass stir if the government did not cancel the allotment.

Interestingly, the TRS has its palatial headquarters in the same Banjara Hills area built on 4,840 square yards, which Congress leader Dasoju Sravan said was allocated by Y S Rajasekhara Reddy’s Congress government in 2004.

The present public interest litigation was filed by a retired government employee, who challenged the allocation of lands for the political party not only in Hyderabad but in all the district centres.

“While the Banjara Hills land’s market value could be up to Rs 100 crore, it was given away for a meagre Rs 4.9 lakh i.e., Rs 100 per square yard,” Chikkudu Prabhakar, the advocate representing the petitioner, told DH.

The court also ordered that state’s chief secretary Somesh Kumar (who had issued the allotment orders), the chief commissioner of land administration, principal secretary (revenue), Hyderabad district collector, and TRS party general secretary Srinivas Reddy be issued notices in the matter.

The court posted the matter for further hearing on July 27, while asking the respondents to file their responses within four weeks.

“The court order is a tight slap on the face of the government. But then I am not too sure what the outcome would be as the top government officials in this regime are already facing several such cases and court contempt charges,” Dasoju, national spokesperson, Congress, told DH.