Erstwhile Karimnagar collectors face court action and corruption charges

Collectors in the erstwhile Karimnagar district face serious allegations ranging from protocol breaches to corruption. Rajanna-Sircilla Collector Sandeep Kumar Jha was pulled up by the High Court, while Peddapalli Collector Koya Sree Harsha faces bribery claims over land allotment to an orphanage

Karimnagar: Collectors from the erstwhile Karimnagar district are increasingly finding themselves in the eye of controversies, with allegations ranging from protocol violations to corruption.

Rajanna-Sircilla Collector Sandeep Kumar Jha has been in the spotlight for the wrong reasons in recent weeks, apart from the High Court pulling him up on Tuesday. His conduct drew attention during the Praja Palana celebrations at the Sircilla Integrated District Offices Complex on September 17, when he violated protocol by arriving on the dais after the chief guest had already hoisted the national flag. Angered by this, Government Whip and chief guest Adi Srinivas openly expressed his displeasure and lodged complaints with the Chief Secretary and the Chief Minister’s Office.

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On the same day, the High Court issued a warrant against Jha for ignoring its instructions and skipping proceedings despite repeated warnings. The case involved a land oustee from Cheerlavancha, Velpula Yellaiah, who lost his house to the Mid Manair project but was denied compensation. Though the court had in June directed the administration to pay compensation, the Collector neither complied nor filed a response, prompting the court to issue an arrest warrant on September 17.

Earlier in April, Jha had faced the High Court’s ire for disobeying orders in another case. A resident of Anupuram, Vanapatla Kavitha, who lost her house in the Mid Manair Reservoir project, had sought rehabilitation under the R&R package. After the court ruled in her favour, she approached the Collector for implementation. Instead, Jha directed the Vemulawada RDO to register a criminal case against her, alleging she had misled the court to obtain the order. The judge, enraged by the misuse of authority, made Jha stand in the courtroom for two hours on April 2 and warned him of jail if such conduct was repeated.

Meanwhile, Peddapalli Collector Koya Sree Harsha is facing allegations of corruption. Pochampalli Rajaiah, who runs a children’s orphanage in Godavarikhani, accused him of demanding Rs 10 lakh through the district welfare officer to hand over 10 guntas of land as per a court order. Rajaiah, who staged a protest at the site along with orphanage children on September 21, recalled that in 2017 the then Collector Sri Devasena had recommended to Singareni officials that land be allocated to the orphanage. When SCCL management demolished the temporary shed he had put up, Rajaiah approached the court, which directed officials to hand over the land.

However, TNGOs district chairman Bonkuri Shankar dismissed the allegations as false.