Hyderabad: High court on Monday dismissed an appeal challenging a single judge order refusing any interim relief or stay of the large-scale demolition drive at Bhoodan land in Velugumatla village, Khammam district.A division bench of Justices Moushumi Bhattacharya and Gadi Praveen Kumar, which heard the appeal filed by the petitioners before the single judge, declined to interfere in the orders at the filing stage itself and dismissed the appeal.While the appellants said the single judge order of March 25 was arbitrary, state counsels argued that Indiramma houses were being sanctioned to the eligible person who were displaced in the demolition, and that the enquiry was still in process to allot houses to persons enlisted in the panchanama list (inquest).During the hearing, the appellants contended that the dispute related to Bhoodan land, over which the state govt had no authority except under the Telangana Bhoodan and Gramdhan Act, 1965. They argued that govt departments lacked jurisdiction to issue proceedings in Jan 2026 through which demolitions were carried out.They further stated that interim relief should have been granted as the balance of convenience favoured the petitioners, alleging that houses of around 1,000 persons were demolished while only 311 pattas were granted, including to persons other than the displaced.It was further contended that pattas were issued under an inapplicable statute and that demolition was followed by allotment to third parties, creating third-party interests. Alleging that the single judge order relied on written instructions from the authorities instead of an affidavit, and declining interim relief citing administrative inconvenience, the appellants urged to suspend the single judge order and grant them relief.Opposing the appeal, the state counsel informed the court that based on an enquiry conducted by the revenue authorities, house sites and Indiramma houses had already been allotted in the Bhoodan land itself to 311 persons and Indiramma houses were allotted to 101 persons in their respective villages, and all amenities such as roads, drinking water supply, drainage system, and electricity were also being provided in the layout carved in the Bhoodan land and along with extending 1 lakh each from self-help groups (HGs) on reimbursement basis.
