POWER BILL DOES NOT GIVE RIGHT ON LAND

The Hyderabad High Court has ruled that mere payment of house tax and obtaining electricity connection would not lead to establishing rights over an encroached area.

A division bench comprising acting Chief Justice Ramesh Ranganathan and Justice A Shankar Narayana was allowing a public interest litigation by one Koppula Srinivasa Rao, seeking to direct the irrigation department of the Andhra Pradesh government to remove encroachments on a canal bund in Revendrapadu in Guntur district.

The petitioner alleged that one Kesamneni Sridhar, husband of the sarpanch of the village, had occupied the land belonging to the irrigation department and constructed shops which was causing inconvenience to the public and for parking of autorickshaws and was constructing the flow of sewage.

Mr Sridhar contended that the petitioner had targeted him alone as he belonged to the ruling Telugu Desam, whereas the petitioner belonged to the Opposition YSRC.

He produced some receipts issued by the Revendrapadu gram panchayat as proof of payment of house tax and the electricity bills and some photographs.

He also filed a writ petition challenging the notices issued by the irrigation authorities for removal of the structure from the encroached land.

Justice Ranganathan and Justice Shankar Narayana dismissed Mr Sridhar’s writ petition holding that mere payment of tax to gram panchayat and obtaining electricity connection, would not lead to establishing his right over the encroached area.

The bench said the defence offered by him through his counter would not help him in resisting the notice issued by the governemnt for removal of construction on the encroached land as identified by the mandal surveyor and depicted in the sketch appended to the report.

It would also not assist him in securing relief, the bench told him.

The bench directed Mr Sridhar to remove the structure within two months. If he failed to do so, the bench said officials should remove the structure after two months.