The Telangana government’s allotment of 5 acres of government land in Mokilla village, Shankarpalli, Ranga Reddy district at a nominal cost does not constitute any interference, the High Court judge said.
Release date – Saturday 23 July 07:40
Hyderabad: The Telangana High Court has upheld the decision to allocate land to film director N Shankar to set up a film studio.
Judges comprising Chief Justice Ujjal Bhuyan and Justice N Tukaramji said the state government’s allotment of five acres of government land in Mokilla village, Shankarpalli, Ranga Reddy district at a symbolic cost did not constitute any interference.
J Shankar of Karimnagar has challenged the allocation order of Rs 5 lakh per acre by the Municipal Urban Development Department to Director Shankar. Some argue that this allocation is arbitrary. The petitioner’s lawyer argued that although the actual value of the land was Rs 5 crore, the allotment price of Rs 5 lakh showed favoritism. If the government wants to develop the film industry, it should provide equal opportunities to all interested, but the government has taken a discriminatory approach in allocating public land to those it chooses.
Attorney-General BS Prasad said the petitioner’s proposed price of Rs 5 crore per acre for the area was unfounded. In his view, there is no violation of the rules to promote the development of specific industries. Senior counsel B Raghu Ram, representing Director Shankar, argued that the property was registered in the name of the production company and not in the name of an individual. This grant will contribute to job creation and economic progress. The judge noted that state governments also offer similar benefits to artists and athletes to establish academies. The judge argued that it would be better to have a policy to ensure that there was no favoritism, and dismissed the case against allocation.
