Hyderabad: The Telangana high court has refused to strike down Section 146 of the GHMC Act, 1955, which allows the civic body to acquire immovable properties in public interest through an agreement between the property owner and the corporation.A division bench comprising Chief Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh and Justice GM Mohiuddin passed the order while disposing of a petition that challenged the provision as unconstitutional and in conflict with the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013.The petitioner, a businessman who owns property at Beerappagadda in Uppal, argued that the provision violated the Constitution and was contrary to the 2013 central land acquisition law.The case arose from a notice dated Feb 9, 2026 issued to the 79-year-old petitioner, asking him to hand over physical possession of a portion of his property to the GHMC and to give consent under Section 146 in public interest. The notice also stated that compensation for structures would be provided as per R&B schedule rates, instead of land value.The court noted that Section 146, on a plain reading, deals with the acquisition of immovable property by agreement and does not confer any power of compulsory acquisition on the GHMC. The bench observed that land can be acquired only on the basis of an agreement between the owner and the corporation, with compensation to be paid in return.The bench also held that it was not satisfied with the petitioner’s contention that the provision suffered from a lack of legislative competence or that it overlapped with the 2013 central law. It observed that the section did not amount to an exercise of the state’s power to forcibly acquire private land and, therefore, the challenge based on repugnancy (contradiction) could not be accepted.At the same time, the court recorded that if the petitioner was aggrieved by the GHMC notice and believed it amounted to forced acquisition contrary to Section 146, he was free to approach the appropriate court or forum against the notice. The matter was accordingly disposed of.
