The New Indian Express ·
Lok Adalat settles 4-decade-old land issues
VIJAYAWADA: Three major disputes, including 24 land acquisition appeals pending for over four decades, were amicably settled at the National Lok Adalat held in Guntur on Saturday, providing relief to farmers, accident victims’ families and parties involved in a long-standing family property dispute.
Guntur district has once again emerged as the top-performing district in Andhra Pradesh in the settlement of civil cases through the National Lok Adalat, securing the first position in the State for the sixth consecutive time. As many as 14,587 cases were settled across the district during the National Lok Adalat held on Saturday. Of these, 954 were civil cases, 13,594 criminal cases and 39 pre-litigation cases.
In a significant achievement, 24 land acquisition appeals were settled at the National Lok Adalat. The appeals pertained to the acquisition of 71.51 acres of land in Kottapalli village of Macherla mandal in 1983 for establishment of a 400/220 KV sub-station.
The settlement brought relief to farmers who had lost their valuable agricultural land for the project. After more than 40 years, the dispute was resolved amicably, bringing an end to prolonged litigation and providing relief to the affected landowners.
The National Lok Adalat was conducted under the guidance of High Court Administrative Judge Justice D Ramesh and the leadership of Guntur District Legal Services Authority (DLSA) Chairman B Sai Kalyanachakravarthi.
In another significant settlement, a motor accident compensation claim was resolved for Rs 96 lakh before the IV Additional District Court, Guntur. The case concerned the death of Deverapalli Jayanth, who died in a fatal road accident on November 14, 2025.
Following the settlement, SBI General Insurance Company Ltd paid Rs 96 lakh to the deceased’s parents, Deverapalli Parvathi Devi and Deverapalli Pothuraju. The settlement provided substantial relief to the bereaved parents.
Meanwhile, a long-standing property partition dispute between siblings was also settled amicably. The dispute was pending before the II Additional District Court, Guntur, in connection with a final decree petition.
As part of the settlement, the sisters agreed to relinquish their rights in the property in return for `2 crore. The settlement brought an amicable end to the family dispute and helped the siblings avoid litigation.