The Telangana government today faced a setback in its ongoing auction of "unused" and "waste" government lands when the state's apex court stayed the auction of a three-acre graveyard in Hyderabad's Khanamet.
Before this, 50 acres of land in Kokapet was sold through an e-auction on Thursday through which the government was reportedly able to earn Rs 2,000 crore.
Similarly, yesterday, 15 acres of land in the Golden Mile road area of Khanamet were sold off by the government, adding another Rs 729 crore to Telangana's exchequer.
It is this sale that has landed the TRS regime in hot water - out of these 15 acres auctioned off by the government, a three-acre plot belongs to a local graveyard.
Angered by the sale of the graveyard (located on Plot No 17), several locals approached the state's high court appealing to it stop the KCR government from selling the cemetery. In a petition, they pointed out that many of their ancestors had been buried there.
Responding to this, the court today issued orders suspending the cemetery auction till further notice.
It also directed the Telangana State Industrial Infrastructure Corporation to conduct the stalled auction in accordance with the final orders of the court, and said that the next hearing on the matter would be held on August 5.
The Telangana government's controversial decision to sell off "unused" and "waste" lands to "raise developmental funds" has attracted the ire of many in the Opposition.
On July 14, BJP leader Vijayashanti had even
filed a petition urging the HC to stop the auction of government lands. However, the court had declined to do so.