Telangana HC declines to stay Kamareddy master plan

Hyderabad, Jan 11:  The Telangana High Court on Wednesday declined to stay the municipal master plan of Kamareddy.

Hearing a petition of farmers opposing the draft master plan, the high court refused to pass an interim order to stay the plan.

The court asked the state government to file a counter on the petition filed by farmers who are not willing to part with their lands for the proposed industrial zone under the masterplan.

The Advocate General informed the court that the government would take the objections of the farmers into consideration while finalising the masterplan. The court adjourned the hearing to January 25.

Meanwhile, some farmers from seven villages continued their protest in Kamareddy town. They were staging a sit-in in front of the municipal office, demanding scrapping of the master plan.

Leaders of opposition BJP, Congress, Telangana Jana Samithi, YSR Telangana Party and others participated in the dharna in support of the farmers. They demanded that the government scrap the masterplan and take the objections of people into consideration.

Police made elaborate security arrangements in view of the protest. Several leaders of farmers were taken into preventive custody in villages. However, some farmers managed to reach the town and sat on dharna.

The Joint Action Committee (JAC) of farmers decided to continue its fight against the master plan for Kamareddy town.

Farmers have been staging dharnas, rasta rokos and observing a bandh against the proposed masterplan for the last few days.

They also filed a petition in Telangana High Court, challenging the master plan. They found fault with officials for earmarking fertile agricultural fields in Adloor, Yellareddy, Elchipur, Tekrial and other villages for an industrial zone.

The farmers said that 1,210 acres of agricultural land has been brought under the green zone and industrial zone under the draft master plan and expressed the fear that the government would take over their land.

Municipal authorities set a January 11 deadline for receiving objections to the draft master plan. The farmers claimed that they have already sent over 500 legal notices to object to the industrial zone. Alleging that officials disregarded their objections, they approached the High Court.

Farmers have been agitating for the last one month against the master plan, demanding the exclusion of their agricultural lands from the proposed green zone and industrial zone

They intensified the protest last week after a farmer, Payyavula Ramulu (40), committed suicide fearing that he would lose his land.