Some villagers of Bahilampur and Mamidyala in Siddipet district got a relief with Telangana High Court instructing the government not to release water resulting in inundation of their localities under Kondapochamma Reservoir.
A bench of Chief Justice Raghvendra Singh Chauhan and Justice T. Amarnath Goud, passing the interim direction, said the order would continue till Monday when it resumes hearing on the matter. A notice was issued to Advocate General B.S. Prasad, after hearing a batch of writ petitions filed by residents of the two villages coming under Mulugu mandal of Siddipet district.
Kondapochamma Reservoir, being constructed as part of Kaleshwaram project, is nearing completion. While majority of the people, who were losing their houses and lands under the project due to submergence, accepted the compensation provided by the government.
However, some residents of the two villagers moved the HC alleging that they did not secure the compensation as per the provisions of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act-2013. They requested the court to ensure that the government did not take possession of their houses and lands till the negotiation process as per the 2013 Act was complied with by the authorities.
While hearing of the petitions was in progress, the petitioners filed an interim application seeking a direction to government not to take any coercive steps resulting in inundation and submergence of their houses and lands in the two villages. When the matter came up for hearing, the AG received the notice.
He sought time to reply to the notice. The bench instructed him to file the reply on or before Sunday and said all the pleas on the matter would be heard on Monday.
