Resolve revenue issue: HC tells state

The Telangana High Court on Wednesday asked the state government to formulate a remedy to resolve grievances of land owners and farmers, who were exhausted by running to courts even for minute things, after the revenue courts in the state were wound up.

A division bench comprising Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Abhinand Kumar Shavili instructed advocate general of Telangana, B.S. Prasad to inform the state government about the intention of the court in this regard.

The bench also made it clear that if the government was not inclined to set up any mechanism or remedy, then the court would step in and issue appropriate orders.

Since the unanimous and one-sided orders issued by the revenue tribunals, which were set up by the government under the Telangana Rights in Land and Pattadar Passbook Act, 2020, by winding up revenue courts from divisional level to principal secretary level, scores of cases had been filed before the High Court and lower courts on land issues and registration issues.

Without giving opportunity to the parties, revenue tribunals had issued orders in 16,000 cases at one go. Even after the interference of the High Court, revenue tribunals had not changed their attitude, the court observed.

As no option left, aggrieved land owners and farmers started running to courts.

Apart from that, even for smaller issues like technical and typographical errors in revenue records, the people were forced to go to courts to get the issues resolved, it said.

Considering all aspects like financial burden, time taking once the aggrieved approached the courts and work burden on the courts with the piling of cases, the High Court opined that it was not fair enough to put only a single window system to resolve the issues.