HON'BLE SRI JUSTICE RAMESH RANGANATHAN WRIT PETITION No.6838 OF 2010 ORDER: Heard Sri Mahmood Ali, Learned Counsel for the petitioners and Sri M.Dhananjaya Reddy, Learned Standing Counsel for the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority and, at their request, the Writ Petition is being disposed of at the stage of admission. The relief sought for in this writ petition is to declare the impugned notice in Form-9 dated 10.03.2010, whereby the petitioners were informed that pursuant to an award passed they should deliver possession of the lands on or before 26.03.2010 to the Land Acquisition Officer, failing which the Revenue Divisional Officer, Chevella would be addressed to enforce surrender of the property to the department under Section 47 of the Land Acquisition Act, as arbitrary and illegal. While the affidavit reads as if the award was served on the petitioners, Sri Mahmood Ali, Learned Counsel for the petitioners, on instructions, would assert that a copy of the award has not been furnished to the petitioners till date. Learned Counsel would submit that the petitioners had sought allotment of alternative land in lieu of the land acquired and since the proposal was pending with the Government the petitioners should not be dispossessed till a decision was taken in this regard. Sri M. Dhananjaya Reddy, Learned Standing Counsel for the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority, would submit that a copy of the award was despatched and that it was likely to be received by the petitioners in the next few days. He would submit that the award records the fact that the Government had rejected the proposal for allotment of alternative land and it is in such circumstances that the award was passed acquiring the petitioner’s land on payment of compensation. Since the award has already been passed, the only remedy available to the petitioners, with regards their claim for allotment of alternative land, is to question the validity of the award in appropriate proceedings. Leaving it open to the petitioners, if they so choose, to question the validity of the award in appropriate proceedings, the respondents are directed not to dispossess the petitioners from the land in question for a period of one week from the date of service of a copy of the award on the petitioners herein. Subject to these directions the writ petition is dismissed. However, in the circumstances, without costs. RAMESH RANGANATHAN, J Date:26.03.2010 Note:Furnish copy by 30.03.2010 B/o Usd/mrkr