Andhracafe.com- HYDERABAD : The Andhra Pradesh High Court on Monday upheld the Andhra Pradesh Tenancy Laws (amendment Act 28 of 2002) Act. This will enable the state government to retain the Gurukul Ghatkesar Trust land surrounding Hitec City, which it took over from encroachers.

         The land belonged to one Bhadrinath earlier and he reportedly handed it over to the Trust in 1951 through a gift deed.  The Trust holds about 640 acres in Izzatnagar of Khanamet village.

          Prominent persons including film actors and politicians had constructed houses in the land, which has been in the centre of a controversy for the last two decades.
Certain software companies also purchased plots there and trustees allegedly sold some plots to private societies in 1982. The endowments department took over the responsibility of running the Trust after trustees fought with each other few years ago.

         A division bench comprising acting Chief Justice Bilal Nazki and Justice N. Ram Mohan Rao on Monday dismissed a writ petition filed by Gangula Narsimha and 32 others claiming to be the protected tenants of the land in Khanamet village.  The petitioners urged the court to say that the provision of Clause (g) of Section 102 of AP (Telangana Area) Tenancy and Agriculture Act was unconstitutional.

        According to them, the Trust had no right to claim ownership of the land.  However, the endowments department told the court that the land originally belonged to the Trust.
        Ch. Satish Kumar, standing counsel for the endowments department, said the court order would allow the government to take over land which was encroached upon. He added that the petitioners were trying to taking shelter under the provisions of the AP Charitable Institutions and Endowments Act.