- Prof. Madabhushi Sridhar The first half of 2014 saw the blockade of TV channels in several states. The Chief Ministers came down heavily against ‘free (!) press’ either directly or indirectly and reputed tv channels were forced to go off the air.  While two states banned on TV channels was based on Intellectual property rights and national security, one state acted against negative criticism of media. The MSOs in Telangana banned telecast of two channels who challenged it in High Court. The Assembly of Telangana State is invoking Legislative privileges against a nasty show ridiculing its MLAs. Right to telecast FIFA Delhi High Court on June 4, 2014 directed to ban over 400 unauthorised websites from broadcasting FIFA World ...

The Revenue department of Telangana Govt. has taken control of 189 acres and 14 guntas land that was deemed allotted to APNGOs. The lands at Survey Nos 36 and 27 at Gopanpalli of Sherlingampalli mandal in Ranga Reddy district are now with Telangana government, as per the boards put up on the site. The change is triggered by a memo passed by the Prinicipal Secretary (Revenue) Mr. BR Meena. Then, the land has been taken over by Suresh Oddar, RDO of Rajendra Nagar, and Vidyasagar, Tahsildar of Sherlingampalii, along with the other staff. It was in 1991-92 that the then Govt. first made the move to allot lands to APNGOs along with other Govt. employees. The allotment triggered several disputes within APNGOs between various ...

The TRS Government already asked for Rs 600 crore from the Centre for conducting a comprehensive land survey in the State, Deputy Chief Minister Mahmood Ali has said. The existing land records in the state were prepared based on the land survey done by the Nizam government in 1938. Though the land survey was to be carried out once in 30 years, no such efforts were made by previous governments. With no proper land records, the TRS government is not in a position to reclaim valuable government and Wakf lands, especially in Hyderabad and Ranga Reddy districts, where realty prices have been sky high during the last decade.Several lands have been registered under multiple names illegally, which ended up in court cases.  Mr Ali also took up the ...

A day after the Australian firm NSL Consolidated Ltd declared an immediate investment of Rs. 1000 Cr and an additional staggered investment of Rs 1500 Cr, KCR handed the mines & geology portfolio to the Irrigation minister Harish Rao. Known to be a hard-worker himself and a hard taskmaster, Harish Rao is expected to ground the declared projects as well as aggressively pursue and start the SAIL steel project in Bayyaram, which SAIL has already agreed to. CM KCR has earlier announced an ambitious single-window clearance program for prospective investors and promised to cut the red tape. He reiterated that the system would be ‘one of it’s kind’ in this country, at the ground-breaking ceremony of the TATA aerospace project. ...

Telangana Irrigation Minister T Harish Rao today condemned the comments of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu that Telangana Government was resorting to provocative actions and statements. The minister pointed out that it is Naidu who is provoking Telangana at every step with his actions, while giving press statements with sugar-coated words. Harish Rao accused the AO CM of trying to loot Telangana resources like irrigation waters and power. He also slammed Naidu for canceling PPAs and pressing the BJP Government at the Centre to issue the Polavaram Ordinance. He reminded that KCR said right on day 1 that Telangana Govt is for good relations with all it’s neighbors, including AP and that the Telangana Govt. since then didn’t say or do anything to harm AP’s interests. Talking to media persons at the Secretariat media ...