Justice C. Praveen Kumar of the High Court ordered status quo in all respects regarding the assigned lands taken over for solar park at Gani in Gadivemula mandal of Kurnool district. The judge was passing these orders in a writ petition filed by Y. Ramadevi and others. They said that in November 2013 they were assigned small extents of land and they were put in possession. The officers put a condition that the lands should be cultivated within three years else they would take back them. In December 2014, some revenue officers visited the lands and saying there were no crops threatened to take back them. Since it was drought year, they could not cultivate dry lands, the petitioners said. In 2016 they were told that the Tahsildar had cancelled the pattas.
They filed appeals before the Revenue Divisional Officer (RDO) and the appeals were pending. Now the government claimed that these lands were given away to solar park. The petitioners said assignment could not have been cancelled and lands cannot be taken for development without paying compensation and giving rehabilitation as per the new Land Acquisition Act of 2013. Now they were prevented from enjoying the lands. The government pleader said they had taken possession of the lands and work was going on. The judge directed the RDO to decide on the appeals filed by the farmers within six weeks and ordered status quo in all respects till then.
Source:TH
