Hyderabad: Telangana high court on Tuesday directed the state govt, Jagtial district administration and the authorities concerned to file their counters in a petition moved by families displaced by the Sripada Sagar Yellampalli project.The petitioners sought immediate release of Rs 58 crore in compensation that was originally sanctioned in 2011. Justice NV Shravan Kumar directed the state and its authorities to submit their counters within two weeks and adjourned the matter for further hearing. More than 20 petitioners, representing project oustees, urged the court to declare a govt order issued in Sept 2023 as illegal and to set it aside. They contended that the latest order arbitrarily reduced the compensation promised to them over a decade ago for the loss of their lands and homes. The oustees further sought a direction to release the originally sanctioned amount along with interest. According to the petition, 126 families from Chegyam village — most of them daily wage earners belonging to SC, ST and minority communities — were affected by the land acquisition for the project. In 2011, the govt sanctioned Rs 58 crore towards compensation for the total acquisition of the village. However, the amount was not disbursed. The sanctioned sum was subsequently reduced to Rs 28 crore and, most recently, to what the petitioners described as a ‘token’ amount of Rs 18 crore in 2023. Terming the reduction a grave social injustice, the petitioners approached the high court challenging the latest govt orders and described the Rs 18 crore package as illegal and inadequate.
