HC relief for Patancheru farmers

Hyderabad: The Hyderabad High Court on Friday refused to allow the Telangana government take away land from farmers of Patancheru in Medak district in lieu of their old loan dues to be repaid to the state.
The bench of Acting Chief Justice Dilip B Bhosale and Justice A V Sesha Sai was dealing with a petition filed by the state revenue secretary challenging the order of a single judge that asked authorities to collect dues with interest but refused to allow the state to dispossess the farmers of their land.
As many as 30 small and marginal farmers from Velimala village near Patancheru approached the court when the revenue authorities attempted to take away their land. The revenue officials were citing loans of Rs 200 each taken by the farmers during 1960-1961.
According to revenue officials, the farmers had not repaid the loans, hence the state auctioned the land. When nobody came forward to buy the land, the state itself bought at Rs one per acre.
“Since it has become a government land, we have powers to take possession of the land,“ the state counsel said. Appearing for the farmers, senior counsel C V Mohan Reddy told the bench that the farmers had repaid their loans long back and that the revenue officials had lost their records. Hence, the single judge had earlier refused to accord permission to the state to evict farmers from their land, he said.
Telangana government's counsel for assignment land wing, Durga Reddy, told the court that the fo refathers of the current farmers had failed to repay the loans and the state converted their land into government land. Such a transaction is called Khareej Khata (the dismissed accounts that now vest with the state).
Reacting to the T counsel's statement, Justice Bhosale said that such a move would drive farmers to suicides.
“There is no point in paying Rs 6 lakh compensation to the kin of the farmers after dispossessing them of their land when they are alive.There is absolutely no record with you to show that the farmers are indebted to you. You agree that they are the original owners of the land.At best you can ask them to pay the principal amount of Rs 200 and interest on it for the last five decades,“ the CJ said and dismissed the state's appeal.