Panels sit pretty as squatters go scot free

HYDERABAD: One year after the TRS government vowed to take back encroached land in and around Hyderabad city and in Ranga Reddy district, the probe into land irregularities remains a non-starter. Three legislature house committees appointed to look into the irregularities have done little to submit their reports after they were constituted in November last year.
Dismayed over the fact that over 3 lakh acres was encroached by individuals and housing co-operative societies, chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao promised stringent action against the culprits. Following a detailed debate on the subject in the state assembly, he agreed to constitute house committees. On November 15, 2014, Speaker of the assembly S Madhusudana Chary appointed three committees headed by TRS MLAs Aruri Ramesh, Bajireddy Govardhan, and Mallipeddi Sudhir Reddy.
The committee headed by Ramesh was mandated to look into the irregularities alleged to have been done by the housing co-operative societies such as Jubilee Hills Co-operative House Building Society, Film Nagar Society and Nandigiri Hills Co-operative Housing Society. The Govardhan committee is to probe into the encroachment of Wakf and endowments land, and the committee headed by Sudhir Reddy has term of reference to investigate individuals and companies encroaching or acquiring into government land, Boodhan land, ceiling land, leased land, and assigned land to Dalits.
But none of the committees did anything substantial to put together reports, except for meeting once or twice. According to the timeframe, the committees had to table the reports in the assembly during the last budget session in March this year.
“The basic issue is lack of sincerity. While the government is not at all keen on delivering on what it has promised, the ruling party MLAs heading the housing committees are not even interested in convening meetings,” said Maganti Gopinath, TDP MLA representing Jubilee Hills assembly constituency, who is the member of the Aruri Ramesh committee.
If action is taken, the government would be able to take back a large chunk of prime land in the city at a time when the chief minister has proposed to sell off government land in a bid to mop up revenues. It would also help the government in implementing its flagship free two-bed room houses for poor.
“It has been a hallmark of the TRS regime that the government is all rhetoric when it comes to announcements, but no action on ground,” said a senior legislator from the MIM.
On the tardy progress shown by the house committees, Ramesh said the meetings could not be held because there was no time. “The legislators were busy all along in development works of their respective constituencies. While we could not convene meeting regularly, the committee has paid spot visits and found large scale irregularities in terms of land allotment to some co-operative societies,” he said.