KSR Column: Court Ruling In Sadavarthi Lands Reminiscent Of Village Panchayat Judgement?

By Kommineni Srinivasa Rao

What is the meaning of the High Court judgement on the controversial Sadavarthi Satram lands in Chennai?

In it's judgement, the Court said the petitioner can pay an additional Rs 5 crore to the auctioned amount of Rs 22.44 crore and take possession of the land. Questions are being raised if the ruling is in favour of the AP government or the petitioner YSRCP MLA Alla Ramakrishna Reddy? There is plenty of scope for such questions and doubts about the High Court statement.

While prominent advocate Jandyala Ravi Shankar welcomed the judgement, others such as Sravan Kumar were unhappy with the ruling. The case pertains to Sadavarthi Satram lands totaling about 83 acres. There are several instances of that land being encroached upon by unscrupulous elements. Also, murmurs were heard that the AP government, which technically owns the lands, is not taking concrete action to save those lands. Following such allegations the government went for auction of those lands and claimed that it received Rs 22.44 crore through it.

Here-in lies the catch. An acre of land in Chennai according to revenue officials is Rs 6 crore. Simple maths gives a total of Rs 498 crore. That raised doubts among the opposition parties in Andhra Pradesh. They said that the ruling TDP in the state is trying to give away the lands at throw away prices to its own cadre.

Assuming encroachment of 30 to 40 acres of land, the amount of Rs 22.44 crore still looks like peanuts. It is precisely for this reason that YSRCP MLA Alla Ramakrishna Reddy filed a case through his lawyer Ponnavula Sudhakar Reddy in the High Court, alleging irregularities.

It may be recalled here that chief minister Chandrababu Naidu said that if the YSRCP MLA pays an additional Rs 5 crore then the government is willing to handover the land to him. "Now, the High Court too gave the same judgement," reminded the CM's son Nara Lokesh with strings attached that if the MLA pays Rs 5 crore then there will be IT raids on his properties. Therefore, the doubts whether the judgement was in tune with the chief minister's earlier statements. Based on those doubts, there are also arguments that the final winner will be the MLA and his organisation.

The Ground Reality

It is not clear if the Court examined aspects such as: Did the government sincerely take the auction route? Were the lands sold for losses to the tune of several crores? What is clear and apparent from the statements of people in the know is that huge profits can be made if the entire land is divided into smaller chunks and sold as individual pieces. If this becomes a reality following the Court's judgement, then it means the TDP government knowingly and willingly misled the people and the Court.

A Word In The Court's Favour

The honourable Court settled the entire issue for less than Rs 28 crore. Did it unwittingly permit private entities to sell the entire land for a profit? Perhaps like a village panchayat, the Court too must have felt that it is better to dispose the land for whatever the amount irrespective of profit or loss.

It is to be seen what impact this judgement will have on future cases of similar nature.