KT Rama Rao gets NGT notice over farmhouse

HYDERABAD: The National Green Tribunal (NGT) issued notices to IT minister KT Rama Rao on Friday on his alleged illegal farmhouse near Janwada in the prohibited GO 111 area. The notices were issued to all respondents in the case.
The notices were issued in response to a petition filed by Congress working president Revanth Reddy.
The green tribunal also set up a fact-finding committee comprising officials of the Union ministry of forests and environment, TSPCB, HMDA, district collector and other officials.
It directed the committee to inspect the constructions that allegedly violate GO number 111 and submit a report within two months.
“The committee will verify whether the construction is legal or illegal. If it is found to be illegal, it will take a call on the remedial action to be taken and the compensation that has to be collected from the violators,” Revanth Reddy’s counsel K Sravan Kumar told TOI on Friday.
In his petition, the Congress working president has alleged “The municipal administration and urban development department is the regulating authority for the restoration of Himayatsagar and Osmansagar, but KTR has allegedly built a VVIP farmhouse in a prohibited zone. The natural stream nala to Osmansagar has been damaged for laying a road to the VVIP farmhouse.”
In March this year, Revanth had alleged that the farmhouse belonged to KTR though on paper the name of the owner was different.
He and other Congress workers released aerial photographs of the farmhouse in question. Narsingi police had then arrested six persons for using drones without permission and declared Revanth and his brother Krishna Reddy as accused.
Revanth was later arrested by the police even as leaders across party lines slammed his arrest, demanding the Telangana government withdraw the cases filed against him.