Telangana has told the High Court that it is unable to immediately release more than ₹40,000 crore in pending payments, including compensation owed to landowners whose properties were acquired for government projects. The disclosure came during contempt proceedings over delayed compensation in Narayanpet district, where the court granted the government 12 weeks to pay around ₹51.35 crore in the cases before it.
Principal secretary (finance) Sandeep Kumar Sultania told Justice NV Shravan Kumar that the government had issued payment tokens for bills across different categories but did not currently have the funds to release the amounts. Tokens are issued by departments after bills are cleared for payment.
“Paying compensation for lands acquired is the top priority. But, even if we desire, I am not in a position to pay. That is my inability,” Sultania told the court while seeking six months to settle the land-acquisition claims. The judge instead granted a final 12-week opportunity for the government to clear the payments in the present matters.
The proceedings arose from a batch of contempt petitions concerning delays in compensation for land acquired by the state in Narayanpet district. The court also directed the government to file a comprehensive additional affidavit within a week. The affidavit must detail compensation paid for land acquired for different government purposes and specify the time required to clear outstanding payments in such cases.
The judge expressed dissatisfaction with the conduct of officials in the contempt proceedings, including Sultania’s absence earlier in the day and an application seeking exemption from personal appearance. The court said the application had not provided valid reasons. Sultania appeared virtually later and explained the government’s financial difficulty in clearing payments owed to different categories of recipients.
During the hearing, the judge said officials had adopted a casual approach to contempt matters and stressed that courts could not treat such cases lightly, particularly when they concerned compensation due to people who had lost land. The court observed that citizens were being compelled to approach the judiciary because of what it described as the careless handling of their grievances by officials.
The judge also pointed to delays and non-compliance with earlier court orders despite time-bound assurances given to the judiciary. “We are not telling you how to pay, but are worried about the citizens’ rights and increasing pendency in courts due to such matters,” the judge observed.
The disclosure places land acquisition within a wider payment backlog affecting multiple categories of government liabilities. However, the proceedings before the court specifically concern compensation claims linked to acquired land, including the approximately ₹51.35 crore covered by the current contempt matters. The government’s additional affidavit is expected to provide a fuller account of the outstanding compensation and the proposed timelines for settlement.
The court has directed the state to submit the affidavit within a week and clear the payments in the present matters within 12 weeks. The cases will be taken up again after that period to assess compliance.
