On April 30, 2020, during the lockdown to contain the Covid19 pandemic, at least 26 families were forcefully evicted from their homes by the district administration of Siddipet. The authorities arrived with around 500 policemen without any prior warning. The people did not get the time to gather their belongings and were hushed away in trucks to nearby Gajwel town for temporary accommodation. The families, who are rightful owners of their land, were living in the submergence area of the Kondapochamma reservoir, a dam that is part of the states massive INR 80,000crore Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project. The project is part of an ambitious programme of the Telangana government to irrigate the entire droughtprone state with water from the Godavari river. The programme was launched in 2016, two years after the formation of the state. The evicted families had earlier challenged their land acquisition in the Telangana high court on the grounds of inadequate rehabilitation. They were offered land to build houses, but the people complained that the land was prone to flooding. On April 23, 2020, the high court asked the district collector to look into these concerns and granted time till May 1 to shift the people to at least two rehabilitation sites**. *Some of the houses in these sites were still under construction, and the government had arranged for temporary accommodation. However, the district collector and the revenue divisional officer did not discuss the issue as directed. In a rush to inaugurate the project, they evicted the families before the land acquisition could be completed, putting them in tinroofed shanties. The court heard the matter on May 1. The state government declined to confirm the sequence of events narrated by the people. The court then ordered an dditional district judge to conduct an inquiry, including taking photographs and recording statements of the witnesses under Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. The court also ordered the district collector to shift the people to temporary rehabilitation flats in Gajwel, to allow them to gather any belongings left behind in their old houses and to supply essential commodities and ration to them. The people said that the temporary rehabilitation flats are too far away from the permanent rehabilitation site, where they need to visit regularly to supervise the construction of their houses. They demanded temporary rehabilitation* **in a new location that is more convenient to commute to. On May 7, the court asked the state if it can provide transport services to the permanent rehabilitation site and if that would be an acceptable solution to the people. However, on May 9, the houses were demolished and on May 29, Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao inaugurated the reservoir project. On March 10, 2021, the high court sentenced Siddipet District Collector O. Venkatarami Reddy and Special Deputy Collector (land acquisition) Jayachandra Reddy to three and four months of imprisonment, respectively, along with fines to be paid to the court and costs to be paid to the petitioners, for failing to implement its previous orders.
Demand/Contention of the Affected Community
Demand for rehabilitation
Other Demand/Contention of the Affected Community
Protection from forced eviction
Region Classification
Rural
Type of Land
Private
What was the action taken by the police?
How many people did the police detain or arrest?
What is the current status of the detained/accused persons?
Did the person face any violence while in police custody?
If any arrests took place, were the accused persons produced before a judge within 24 hours of the arrest?
If the accused was not produced before a magistrate within 24 hours, or not produced at all, what were the reasons?
Legislation under which the accused was charged
Was the accused person informed of their right to legal representation? Did the accused person have access to legal aid?
In cases where the accused person approached the court for bail, was bail granted?
Why was bail granted or rejected? If granted, what were the bail conditions and quantum of bail?
Details of sources (names of accused, names and numbers of any lawyers, names of any police officers contacted)
Status of Project
Original Project Deadline
Whether the Project has been Delayed
Significance of Land to Land Owners/Users
Whether the project was stalled due to land conflict
Source/Reference
Total investment involved (in Crores):
₹
Type of investment:
Year of Estimation
Has the Conflict Ended?
When did it end?
Why did the conflict end?
Categories of Legislations Involved in the Conflict
Land Acquisition Laws, Procedural Laws
Legislations/Policies Involved
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Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Whether claims/objections were made as per procedure in the relevant statute
What was the claim(s)/objection(s) raised by the community?
What was the Decision of the Concerned Government Department?
Legal Processes and Loopholes Enabling the Conflict:
Legal Status:
In Court
Status of Case In Court
Pending
Whether any adjudicatory body was approached
Name of the adjudicatory body
Name(s) of the Court(s)
High Court for the State of Telangana
Case Number
WP 5415/2020
Main Reasoning/Decision of court
Major Human Rights Violations Related to the Conflict:
Displacement
Whether criminal law was used against protestors:
Reported Details of the Violation:
People were evicted from their homes by force and without an opportunity to shift on their own. The eviction took place during a pandemic when they were supposed to be home. They could not even carry their belongings. When they visited the Revenue Divisional Officer, he allegedly threatened them with police action for violating social distancing norms.
Date of Violation
April 30, 2020
Location of Violation
Mamidyal, Siddipet district
Government Departments Involved in the Conflict:
District Collector, Siddipet
PSUs Involved in the Conflict:
Did LCW Approach Government Authorities for Comments?
Name, Designation and Comment of the Government Authorities Approached
Corporate Parties Involved in the Conflict:
Did LCW Approach Corporate Parties for Comments?
Communities/Local Organisations in the Conflict:
What was the action taken by the police?
How many people did the police detain or arrest?
What is the current status of the detained/accused persons?
Did the person face any violence while in police custody?
If any arrests took place, were the accused persons produced before a judge within 24 hours of the arrest?
If the accused was not produced before a magistrate within 24 hours, or not produced at all, what were the reasons?
Legislation under which the accused was charged
Was the accused person informed of their right to legal representation? Did the accused person have access to legal aid?
In cases where the accused person approached the court for bail, was bail granted?
Why was bail granted or rejected? If granted, what were the bail conditions and quantum of bail?
Were there any other notable irregularities that took place, or other significant details?
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