The Hon’ble Sri Justice Nooty Ramamohana Rao Writ Petition No.27436 of 1996 Dated 24th November 2006 Between: Paladugula Muthaiah and 11 others .. Petitioners And Agent to Government/District Collector, Eluru, West Godavari District and another .. Respondents The Hon’ble Sri Justice Nooty Ramamohana Rao Writ Petition No.27436 of 1996 Order: The writ petitioners, 12 in number, call in question the action of the respondents in seeking to dispossess them from out of the land in their occupation in R.S.No.17/1 of Palacherla Rajavaram Village of Jeelugumilli Mandal, West Godavari District. The writ petitioners have asserted that they are all members belonging to the Scheduled Caste, and that they are landless poor persons, and that their main avocation is to be employed as agricultural labour, and that they have no other sources of income or any properties to enable them to live with dignity. The writ petitioners further asserted that they have occupied small extents of land situated in Survey No.17/1 of Palacherla Rajavaram Village of Jeelugumilli Mandal, West Godavari District. The writ petitioners further asserted that the land in question has been occupied by them more than 40 years back and that by their dint of hard work and labour, they could bring them into cultivable standard, and that they have been raising crops thereon by cultivating the said lands. It is the assertion of the writ petitioners that the lands in question were all waste lands not fit for the agricultural operations, prior to their occupation. Therefore, they have been soliciting grant of patta in their favour over the small extents of land occupied by them. The writ petitioners have also asserted that though their applications have been favourably considered finding that they are all eligible landless poor persons, the formal grant of pattas has not been undertaken by the Revenue administration only on the ground that the writ petitioners do not belong to Scheduled Tribe Community, but they are all members belonging to the Schedule Caste and that Palacherla Rajavaram Village forms part of the schedule area in West Godavari District, and consequently, the Revenue Administration could not grant the pattas without ascertaining the objections, if any, from members belonging to the Scheduled Tribes for such a grant. Therefore, the writ petitioners instituted the above Writ Petition to resist the attempts of their dispossession from out of the lands in question. 2. The second respondent-Mandal Revenue Officer, Jeelugumilli Mandal had filed a detailed counter-affidavit in the matter. It has been specifically set out that all the writ petitioners are landless poor persons belonging to the Scheduled Caste. It was also asserted that the writ petitioners are enjoying the lands for over last 40 years and that they have brought waste lands into cultivable standard by their hard labour. In the counter affidavit, it has been specifically noted that the land in question has been registered as ‘Assessed Waste Dry Land’ in the revenue records and that the writ petitioners are ‘Shivai Jamedars’ and consequently they are entitled to be granted pattas. But, however, the difficulty in granting patta being the fact that the Palacherla Rajavaram Village is situated in the schedule area and as per Act 1 of 1970, the assignment could not be granted in favour of the writ petitioners earlier. It has also been pointed out that the local candidates belonging to the Scheduled Tribes have not raised any objection either for occupation of the lands in question by the writ petitioners or for grant of rights in favour of the writ petitioners. In fact, the learned Government Pleader would also assert that the revenue administration is not disinclined to consider the claims of the writ petitioners for grant of the patta since they are otherwise eligible persons. In view of this undoubted fact situation prevailing, it is time that the revenue administration has settled the entire issue one way or the other. It is, therefore, only appropriate that the District Collector, West Godavari District, Eluru and Agent to the Government does authorize someone responsible enough to ascertain the correctness or otherwise of the claims made by the writ petitioners and also specifically ascertain the fact as to whether there was any objection from the local tribal candidates for the eventual assignment of land in favour of the writ petitioners. This exercise may be completed within a period of 3 (three) months. Based upon the result of the aforesaid enquiry, action considered appropriate for grant of pattas be taken. If the revenue administration has taken a decision to grant such pattas, in view of there being no objection from the local tribal candidates, the pattas be granted within a further period of 3 (three) months. During the course of enquiry, if the occupation of the lands in question by the writ petitioners, is not otherwise objectionable, no attempts may be made to evict them from the said lands. Writ Petition is, accordingly, disposed of. No costs. _______________________ (Nooty Ramamohana Rao, J) 24th November, 2006 IBL/LUR