Farmers fail to get SC stay land acquisition for barrage

The Supreme Court on Monday refused to stay an order passed by a division bench of the Hyderabad High Court allowing the construction of the Sundilla Barrage under the Kaleswaram Lift Irrigation Scheme.

A vacation bench of the High Court had also refused to stay an interim order of a single judge for acquiring the land from the farmers of Gowliwada village for the construction of the Sundilla Barrage.

Aggrieved by the vacation bench’s refusal, G. Venkat Reddy and others of Gowliwada village moved an appeal before the Supreme Court.

Attorney general Mukul Rohtagi and senior counsel B Adinarayana Rao appeared for the Telangana government submitted Supreme Court Justice Deepak Gupta, who was hearing the case, that the state government has already passed the award and compensation amount was deposited and most of the land owners received the compensation.

As the most of the farmers received the compensation, the counsels said the CCLA has passed the orders for taking possession of the lands for the construction of the barrage.

They said that if the farmers have any grievance with regard to compensation, they can avail legal remedies available to them for seeking a higher compensation, but they have no right to stall the construction of the barrage.

The counsel for the petitioners informed the court that earlier a division bench had stayed the dispossession of the farmers till completion of the land acquisition process. “Despite the orders, authorities had forcibly evicted farmers from their land,” he said.

Justice Gupta said the court is not inclined to grant any interim order at this juncture as the matter needs be detailed hearing and directed the registry to post it before appropriate bench.