HYDERABAD: The high court has directed the state to conduct an inquiry into how a private individual could claim and avail compensation for a village tower acquired as part of land acquisition for the Mid Manair irrigation project.
The accused, R Haricharan Rao, a resident of Chintaltana village in Vemulavada mandal of Rajanna Siricilla district, had received ?55 lakh as compensation for the village tower. Though an inquiry was conducted by officials following several complaints by social activists, no action was taken.
A PIL filed by R Shankar Rao, a resident of Shiva Sai Nagar in the same mandal, sought action against the claimant and also officials who connived with him. He also sought recovery of ?55 lakh from Haricharan along with interest. His counsel Gandra Mohan Rao pointed to the inaction of authorities despite complaints. State counsel Radhive Reddy cited the counter filed by Rajanna Siricilla collector who found that the village tower was marked as village property initially but later shown as Haricharan’s property.
The petitioner found fault with the authorities for relying on a letter given by sarpanch to allow Haricharan to swallow public money. “A senior assistant working in the office of land acquisition officer played a key role in this episode. He evaded answers for some time and later went underground. The state finally suspended him, but the main culprit is still free and money has not yet been recovered,” the petitioner said. The bench directed the state to conduct a thorough inquiry on the wrongful payment of compensation to an unconnected person and sought action taken report by Jan 4.
