Demand for high court judge inquiry into sale of assigned lands

VISAKHAPATNAM: The Visakha Zilla Dalita Sanghala (Vidasam) Ikya Vedika and Uttarandhra Adhyana Vedika have called upon the state and central government authorities to investigate the sale of assigned lands and the legalization of these sales. The organizations have raised concerns about the process of legalizing the sale of Dalit lands in Andhra Pradesh, which took place before the elections and is now being registered after the elections.Professor KS Chalam, the honorary president of Adhyana Vedika and former UPSC member, filed a complaint with the National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC), requesting the commission to examine and stop the transactions of lands and restore the lands to the owners by purchasing the lands from the illegal owners and establish a land bank in North Andhra to purchase distress sale of lands as part of NCSC mandate Article 338 (5). He also urged the commission to send a team of officers to inspect and book cases of deceitful dealings and take legal action to nullify the government's policy of legitimizing such sales by ill-informed poor Dalits.Vidasam has demanded that the government halt the transfer of assigned lands allegedly registered under GO 596 and initiate an inquiry into the registrations by a sitting High Court Judge. Dr. Busi Venkata Rao, the State coordinator of the Ikya Vedika, stated that they have filed complaints about the illegal purchase of assigned lands in Visakhapatnam and Vizianagaram with the Governor, Chief Commissioner of Land Acquisition (CCLA), and the Visakhapatnam district collector.According to Dr Rao, approximately 329.536 acres of land listed under section 22 A in the Anandapuram and Padmanabham mandals of the Bheemili Revenue Division were denotified and sold. He demanded that the transfer of lands be halted until a sitting High Court judge conducted an inquiry.