HON'BLE SRI JUSTICE C.V.NAGARJUNA REDDY WRIT PETITION No.30815 of 2011 Date: 29.12.2011 Between: G.Victoria and five others. ..... Petitioners AND The Revenue Divisional Officer, Rajampet, Kadapa District And two others. .....Respondents Counsel for the Petitioners: Sri P.Veera Reddy Counsel for the Respondents: AGP for Land Acquisition The Court made the following: ORDER: This Writ Petition is filed for a Mandamus to declare the inaction of the respondents in paying exgratia to the petitioners for the lands situated in Thamballa Gondi Village, Atloor Mandal, YSR Kadapa District, which are allegedly assigned to them, as illegal and arbitrary. The petitioners sought for a consequential direction to the respondents to pay exgratia to them. It is the pleaded case of the petitioners that originally, they belonged to the Villages that came under submergence of Somasila project; that later they have settled down at Thamballa Gondi Village; and that, as they are landless poor persons, the then Tahsildar granted DKT pattas on 22.05.1985, assigning different extents of lands in their favour. It is their further case that due to flash floods of Sagileru river in the year 1987, all their belongings including the original DKT pattas were washed away and that, on the instructions of the Revenue Divisional Officer, dated 04.12.1998, and after verification of the office records, the Tahsildar issued duplicate DKT pattas to them on 27.01.2010. The petitioners have given out references of the DKT patta numbers and the extents of the lands assigned to them. They pleaded that on their approaching the Revenue Divisional Officer, the latter directed respondent No.2 to inspect the lands for the purpose of issuance of pattadar passbooks and title deeds, and that, after such inspection, respondent No.2 has sent proposals to respondent No.1 on 01.07.2007, for issuance of pattadar passbooks and title deeds in favour of the petitioners. It is the further case of the petitioners that the State Government has proposed to acquire their lands for the purpose of right bank canal of Telugu Ganga project and for preservation of a bird called ‘Kalivi Kodi’ and that, in pursuance thereof, respondent No.1 has issued notice, dated 12.03.2008, whereunder the above-mentioned DKT lands were proposed for acquisition and objections were called for. Even though names of some of the petitioners were shown in the list, the particulars of the lands were shown as ‘assessed waste’, but not as ‘assigned lands’ and that thereafter, respondent No.2 has issued fresh notices, dated 04.10.2010, asking the petitioners to appear for enquiry on 08.10.2010 along with the original D-form pattas and pass port size photos. The petitioners further pleaded that as they could not produce the original D-form pattas, their claims were kept pending without paying the exgratia. Feeling aggrieved by this inaction of the respondents in payment of exgratia, the petitioners filed the present Writ Petition. No counter-affidavit is filed by the respondents. However, learned Assistant Government Pleader for Land Acquisition, representing the respondents, placed before the Court a copy of the letter, dated 23.11.2011, addressed by the Revenue Divisional Officer, Rajampet to the learned Government Pleader for Land Acquisition, wherein it is inter alia stated that the inspection notes of the then Revenue Divisional Officer shows that certain DKT pattadars are non- residents and that some of them have appeared and produced D-form pattas and others have not even appeared in the enquiry and that, as per the inspection notes, the DKT pattadars of the lands claimed in this Writ Petition are included in the category of non-resident assignees, who have not produced the D-form pattas, etc. He has also shown the names of six persons as those in whose favour DKT pattas were issued. He further referred to the Tahsildar’s report, wherein payment of exgratia was recommended in favour of the petitioners, and opined that the Tahsildar failed to take into account the adangal extracts and recommended for payment of exgratia to the petitioners. The Revenue Divisional Officer found variation between the adangal extracts furnished along with the exgratia proposals and the schedule prepared by the then Revenue Divisional Officer along with the inspection notes prepared in the year 2008. In view of these variations and discrepancies, the Revenue Divisional Officer opined that a detailed enquiry is necessary to find out as to who are the actual assignees and whether the provisions of the Andhra Pradesh Assigned lands (Prohibition of Transfer) Act, 1977, are violated in respect of any of these assigned lands in dispute. It is further stated that after holding such a detailed enquiry, further action will be taken for payment of exgratia to the original claimants. In the light of the above facts and instructions forwarded by the Revenue Divisional Officer, Rajampet, the Writ Petition is disposed of with the direction to the first respondent to hold a detailed enquiry as proposed by him in the above-mentioned letter, dated 23.11.2011, addressed to the learned Government Pleader for Land Acquisition. He shall give notices to the petitioners and those whose names appear in the revenue records such as adangal, etc. After giving these persons an opportunity of being heard, he shall complete the enquiry, take appropriate decision and communicate the same to the petitioners and other persons interested within a period of three months from the date of receipt of a copy of this order. Immediately after the decision is taken, exgratia shall be paid to the deserving claimants. As a sequel to disposal of the Writ Petition, W.P.M.P.No.38214 of 2011 filed by the petitioners for interim relief is disposed of as infructuous. __________________________ C.V.NAGARJUNA REDDY, J 29th December 2011 DR