THE HON'BLE SRI JUSTICE C.V.NAGARJUNA REDDY WRIT PETITION NO : 2257 of 2004 Date: 8.2.2010 Between: Smt. Vitta Bai, ..... PETITIONER AND The Chief Conservator of Forests, Hyderabad and others. .....RESPONDENTS Counsel for the Petitioner : Sri Syed Shareef Ahmed Counsel for Respondent Nos. 1 to 3: Govt. Pleader for Forests Counsel for Respondent No. 4 : Govt. Pleader for Revenue The Court made the following : THE HON'BLE SRI JUSTICE C.V.NAGARJUNA REDDY WRIT PETITION NO :2257 of 2004 ORDER: The petitioner filed this writ petition for a mandamus to set aside proceedings dated 1.12.2003 after declaring that the provisions governing the Schedule Area have no application to the petitioner’s lands admeasuring Acs. 27.12 guntas situated at Devapur Village, Indervelly Mandal, Adilabad District as illegal and arbitrary. At the hearing, Sri Syed Shareef Ahmed, learned counsel for the petitioner submitted that in view of the consistent stand taken by the respondents that the property in question is situated within the Schedule Area, attracting the provisions of the Andhra Pradesh Preservation of Private Forest Rules, 1978 (for short ‘the Rules’), the petitioner is not proposing to press the relief claimed in the writ petition. He, however submitted that since the trees were already felled and converted into logs, the respondent forest officials may be directed to follow the provisions of the Rules and pay the sale proceeds to the petitioner after deducting the felling and other expenses as per the Rules. The learned Assistant Government Pleader for Forests has disputed the claim of the learned counsel for the petitioner that the trees were already felled and cut into logs. He, however submitted that the forest department will take immediate steps to fell the trees, convert them into logs and sell the same in accordance with the procedure prescribed under the Rules and pay the sale proceeds to the petitioner after deducting the expenses. Having regard to these submissions of the learned counsel for the parties, the writ petition is disposed of with the following directions: (1) Respondent No.3 is directed to fell the trees, convert them into logs and sell the same by following the procedure under the Rules, if not already felled and converted into logs. (2) The timber should be sold as per the procedure prescribed under the Rules within a period of two months from the date of receipt of a copy of this order; and (3) The value of the timber realized on sale should be paid to the petitioner after deducting the expenses as envisaged under the Rules, within a period of one month after sale of the timber. __________________________ C.V. NAGARJUNA REDDY,J DATE: 8th February, 2010 pnb