HC notice to TS, AP over relief to farmers

The Hyderabad High Court on Friday issued notices to the AP and Telangana governments asking them to make clear their stands on the two PILs seeking to declare as void the provisions under the Indian Telegraph Act which denies compensation to the farmers while installing electric lines towers in their agriculture fields.

A division bench comprising Chief Justice Thottathil Bhaskaran Nair Radhakrishnan and Justice Ramesh Ranganathan, while hearing the PILs by Mr P. Chengal Reddy, a social activist, and Mr G. Seshadri an advocate of Ananthpur, said the farmers have to be paid the compensation when the transmission lines are laid through their fields.

The bench directed the Chief Secretaries, principal secretaries of energy and chairmen and managing directors (CMD) of power transmission corporations of both states to file their affidavits, explaining the reasons for not paying the compensation to the farmers in both states.

The counsel for AP government told the court that the Karnataka electricity department has been laying the transmission lines in the fields of farmers in Ananthpur district.

Mr. Chengal Reddy informed the court that the transmission companies have been denying the compensation to hundreds of farmers in both AP and Telangana since the year 2003, which is in violation of the provisions of Electricity Act 2003.

He submitted that the action of the transmission companies was also in violation of Works of Licensees Rules - 2006 of the Centre and also the AP Works of Licensees Rules - 2007.

Advocate Seshadri urged the court to consider the validity of Section 164 of the Electricity Act 2003, which by implication, makes Indian Telegraph Act 1885 (13 of 1885) applicable for the laying of transmission lines. The bench granted three weeks to the respondents to file their affidavits.