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SC order on Amaravati’s weaker section plots may benefit Jagan govt
The SC directed APCRDA to not take up any constructions in the pattas distributed among the poor till the court dismisses the case
The latest judgement by the Supreme Court refusing to grant stay on the distribution of housing plots to the poor in Amaravati, the capital region of Andhra Pradesh, is expected to reap huge political mileage to ruling YSR Congress party led by chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy.
On Wednesday, a Supreme Court bench headed by Justice K M Joseph, which heard arguments over a special leave petition filed by the farmers of Amaravati challenging the creation of a separate Residential Zone (R-5) within the capital region for distribution of housing sites for the poor, said it could not stop the government from allotment of plots to the poor.
The bench, however, made certain modifications in the state high court judgement of May 5, which refused to stop the land allotments. Justice Joseph said the patta issued for the economically weaker sections in the R-5 Zone is subject to the final judgement on the state capital issue.
The Supreme Court bench directed the Andhra Pradesh Capital Region Development Authority (APCRDA) that it should not take up any constructions in the pattas distributed among the poor, till the court dismisses the case of the state capital.
The judge said the patta holders would not be entitled to special equities and they would not create any third-party rights, which means they cannot sell the assigned house sites.
According to Section 41(3), (4) of the APCRDA Act, the state government has created R-5 zone (residential zone) by amending the Amaravati master plan and brought various lands under its jurisdiction through a gazette notification, after entertaining objections and suggestions and interacting with the public in October, an official note from the chief minister’s office said.
On April 3, the APCRDA, which has been looking after the developmental works in Amaravati capital region, ratified a government’s order (GO No. 45 dated March 31) allotting 1134.59 acres of land located in 20 different layouts in Amaravati for the construction of 48,218 houses for the poor people belonging to Krishna and Guntur districts.
The 20 layouts are located at Inavolu, Mandadam, Krishnayapalem, Navuluru, Kuragallu and Nidamanur villages in the capital region. An official from the chief minister’s office (CMO) said the eligible beneficiaries of the housing plots have already been identified and title deeds were prepared.
“The levelling of the land in the R-5 zone has been completed and the plots are demarcated for being given in possession to the beneficiaries,” a CMO statement, quoting the APCRDA officials, said.
Political mileage
The allotment of plots in Amaravati capital region would benefit more than 51,392 poor families, accounting for more than 250,000 people. “This will definitely fetch huge political mileage to Jagan Mohan Reddy and his party. A piece of land, that too, in the core capital region closer to commercial cities like Vijayawada and Guntur, is a huge asset for any person and naturally, he will have a gratitude towards the government,” said, political analyst, Bhandaru Srinivasa Rao.
For now, the plots in the R-5 zone of Amaravati are being given to the poor people from Guntur and Krishna districts. In the coming days, the Jagan government might allot housing plots to people from other parts of the state as well, as the Supreme Court has cleared the hurdle for the same.
“After all, there is a huge land bank of 30,000 acres created by former chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu, and it is now coming in handy for Jagan to distribute plots. This is expected to bring massive support to the ruling party in the next elections,” Rao said.
Though the Supreme Court has given the direction that no constructions should be taken up in the plots distributed among the poor till the case with regard to the capital is disposed off, the chief minister has decided to go ahead with the construction of weaker sections housing colonies in these plots.
Jagan, who conducted a review on housing at his Tadepalli office on Thursday, directed the officials to prepare an action plan to construct houses and hand them over to the beneficiaries after distributing the house site pattas to the poor in the R-5 zone in the Amaravati capital region.
On Friday, the Jagan government sent proposals to the Centre for construction of over 47,000 houses for the weaker section, out of the total number of 51,392 houses proposed in the R-5 zone of Amaravati. According to the officials, the government decided to construct the houses with shear-wall technology.
“The government has sanctioned ₹50 crore for the development of layouts for weaker sections housing colonies in Amaravati and already spent nearly ₹20 crore for the same,” a CRDA official said.
Jagan told them to pay special attention on expediting the construction so that the poor would get the houses at the earliest. “The sooner the houses are constructed and handed over to the poor, the better would it be for their lives,” he said.
However, the farmers, who had given their lands for the development of Amaravati, are disappointed over the Supreme Court judgement. “We have given our precious fertile lands to the then state government under land pooling, not for weaker sections housing colonies, but for the construction of a world class capital city. Now, our hopes are shattered,” K Anil Kumar, a farmer of Krishnayapalem said.
The farmers of Amaravati have no option but to intensify their agitation, while continuing to wage the legal battle, to protect the capital city, Kumar added.
