Land survey planned by Telangana may be delayed

​Hyderabad: The land survey planned by the Telangana government two years back is likely to be delayed as the work is yet to start. Doubts are being expressed that the administration has put it on the back burner as it does not want to get into fresh problems.

Many land disputes in the State are also a contributing factor for the delay. Besides, the various categories of land during the Nizam’s regime like ‘jagir’, ‘diwan’, ‘sarfekhas’ in the 40s have no records. Such factors have given rise to many ownership disputes, which have been dragging on in courts for decades. As a result lakhs of acres of government land are under occupation. Their ownership has changed hands as fake documents have been created or the records have been tampered with.

The occupied lands include as many as 50,000 acres of Wakf and thousands of acres of Budhan. Hundreds of cases concerning these lands are pending in courts. Even if ownership of these lands changes, the government can’t hope to win the cases as several top politicians running businesses in these lands have joined the ruling party.

Lakhs of people still own acres above the ceiling limits taking advantage of loophole in the law. If a comprehensive land survey is undertaken at least three lakh acres of surplus land can be identified, says Sarampalli Malla Reddy, All-India Kisan Sabha Vice-president. Sagar, vice-president, Society Against Caste Discrimination, told The Hans India that ‘the State has no courage to get hold of the land in possession of grabbers, hence it has put off thesurvey.’

Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao had planned to take up the survey at an estimated cost of Rs 600 crore with a view to taking action against the land grabbers. The Centre agreeing to share 60 per cent of the cost had released Rs 84 crore as the first installments one and a half year back. The government had then announced in the Assembly its intent to take up the work by appointing surveyors. It also conducted training classes for the Rrevenue staff and purchased the required tool in April this year.

Yet the work has failed to take off, points out senior BJP leader Sridhar Reddy while expressing unhappiness over the delay while talking to THI. Farmers’ organisations accuse the government of deliberately keeping the survey in abeyance. They say that 42 lakh acres have been distributed in Telangana since independence to Dalits and girijans under assigned lands. KCR has himself announced that about 25 lakh acres of these lands have changed hands.

If the government goes ahead with the survey it has to take possession of these occupied land and act against the grabbers, Malla Reddy told THI while expressing doubts about the survey taking place as the government wants to protect the grabbers who have powerful political connections.

Chief Commissioner of Land Administration Raymond Peter says that the Revenue staff has been busy with reorganisation of districts hence it has not been able to take up the survey. The government appears to have changed it stand of carving out new districts after the land survey. The possibility of the administration using the Google maps and aerial survey under the Bhubharati scheme cannot be ruled out.