Telangana Court Seizes Government Office Assets Over 1983 Irrigation Dispute

A dispute that began with canal works in 1983 has, 43 years later, ended up with court officials taking away furniture and equipment from a government irrigation office in Telangana.

It was an unusual sight at the Mahabubabad Irrigation Circle office when chairs, tables, desks, computers and other office equipment were taken out of the building following court orders in a long-running dispute involving more than Rs 3.72 crore.

The attachment is linked to a case that goes back more than four decades to irrigation works carried out in 1983 under the Sriram Sagar Project.

Contractor K Venkateshwarlu was involved in a dispute over earthwork excavation and embankment work on the Kakatiya Canal, and the dispute eventually reached the courts and resulted in a decree.

With the decretal amount still not settled, execution proceedings moved to the stage of attachment of office assets. 

What made the matter stand out was the location of the attachment. Based on the City Civil Court in Hyderabad's order, items being used in a government irrigation office were taken into custody. 

Chairs, tables, desks, computers and other equipment were reportedly removed from the premises as part of the court process.

According to government officials, Irrigation Department was reorganised in 2021, after which the case was shifted to the jurisdiction of the Irrigation Circle, Warangal. The related records and court matters were also transferred, according to the department's communication. The department subsequently asked its government pleader to take steps to replace the Mahabubabad Superintending Engineer with the Warangal Superintending Engineer in the case. But before that change was completed, the attachment proceedings reached the Mahabubabad office.

The development has now raised questions about why a dispute dating back to 1983 remained unresolved for so long and why the matter reached the stage of attachment of government office equipment.

The department has been seeking government approval for payment of the decretal amount and legal advice on the case.