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Andhra high court stays construction of houses for the poor in Amaravati’s R-5 zone
A three-member bench of the high court had reserved its judgement on July 17, after a prolonged hearing on the petitions filed by the farmers’ welfare association of Amaravati
The Andhra Pradesh high court on Thursday passed an interim order to stall the construction of houses for the poor in the residential zone (R-5) of Amaravati, which was proposed to be developed by the previous Telugu Desam Party (TDP) government as a world-class capital city of the state.
A three-member bench of the high court comprising justices D V S S Somayajulu, Cheekati Manavendranath Roy and Ravi Nath Tilhari, which reserved its judgement on July 17, after a prolonged hearing on the petitions filed by the farmers’ welfare association of Amaravati, delivered the verdict on Thursday.
The Amaravati farmers moved the court challenging the Government Order No. 45 and seeking to amend the Andhra Pradesh Capital Region Development Act (APCRDA) to make changes in the masterplan of the Amaravati capital region incorporating R-5 zone, for the construction of houses for the poor from other parts of the state, under Navaratnalu-Pedalandariki Illu (Nine Jewels and Houses for All) scheme.
In the judgement, a copy of which has been seen by HT, the bench said the APCRDA Act talked of affordable housing for those who lost their land in the land pooling scheme. Therefore, the question of providing houses for the people from outside Amaravati was debatable.
The high court bench further said the APCRDA had not produced any proof to show that the final land pooling scheme had been implemented and the authority had taken over the land reserved for social amenities and affordable housing etc.
It pointed out that the issue of Amaravati capital was pending for hearing in the Supreme Court and hence, allotment of land for the housing scheme for the poor was subject to the outcome of the Supreme Court judgement.
The bench pointed out that the patta (title deed) given to the people for the house site itself says further action will be taken in accordance with the final orders pending before the high court and Supreme Court. “It shows the construction in the house site can only be after final orders,” the bench said.
“If the construction is completed, it will be a fait accompli. The loss will be irreparable. The enormous amount of the public funds now proposed to be spent cannot be recouped if the judgement was against the government,” the bench said.
The bench said permitting the further construction would not be proper or justifiable in the circumstances and hence, it is granting an interim stay on the constructions in the R-5 zone, till further orders were passed by the courts including Supreme Court.
On July 24, chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy laid foundation stone for the construction of a massive housing colony of 50,793 houses for the poor at Krishanayapalem village in the core area of Amaravati at a cost of ₹1,829.57 crore, including ₹384.42 crore on developing infrastructure facilities like roads, electricity and drinking water.
“Further, an amount of ₹73.74 crore will be spent towards 45 social infrastructure projects including 11 Anganwadi centres, 11 schools, 11 digital libraries and 12 hospitals to cater to educational and health needs of the residents of these housing colonies, named as Jagananna Colonies,” the chief minister had said.
He claimed that once the construction is completed, the worth of each house, which is now being constructed at a cost of ₹2.3 lakh, would go up to around ₹12 lakh. “Amaravati belongs to all, not a few sections of rich farmers,” the chief minister had said.
Earlier on May 26, Jagan distributed house site “pattas” to the beneficiaries from Guntur and NTR districts. The house sites were spread over 25 layouts in nine villages of Amaravati in the R-5 zone, which was created by amending the master plan of Amaravati in March this year.
This zone was previously earmarked for industries, businesses and other commercial purposes in the master plan for the Amaravati capital area. The Amaravati farmers opposed the change in the master plan and moved the high court on the grounds that it would change the status of the capital region and affect their interests.
