HON'BLE SRI JUSTICE C.V.NAGARJUNA REDDY W.P.No.30088 of 2010 Date : 8-3-2011 Between : Ch.Bhulaxmi .. Petitioner And Government of Andhra Pradesh, Represented by its Principal Secretary, Panchayat Raj Department, Secretariat Buildings, Hyderabad and another .. Respondent Counsel for petitioner : Sri K.S. Murthy Counsel for respondent No.1 : A.G.P. for Panchayat Raj Counsel for respondent No.2 : Sri Raju, for Sri G.Elisha The Court made the following : ORDER: At the Interlocutory Stage, the Writ Petition is taken up for hearing and disposal with the consent of the learned counsel for the parties. This Writ Petition is filed for a mandamus to declare the inaction of respondent No.2 in processing the petitioner’s application for receiving house tax for thatched huts in R.S.No.539/1, Gollapudi village, Ibrahimpatnam Mandal, Krishna District as illegal and arbitrary. In her affidavit, the petitioner has pleaded that she owns a piece of land in R.S.No.539/1 of Gollapudi village, having acquired title over it under a registered settlement deed dated 25-5-2010 executed by her sister and mother. The petitioner made an application to respondent No.2 on 1- 8-2010 for assessing the thatched hut raised over the said piece of land. The grievance of the petitioner is that this application is not considered by respondent No.2. Respondent No.2 filed a counter affidavit wherein it is inter alia stated that on the vacant site a small hut was erected, which cannot be used either for residential purpose or as a cattle shed and that the entire premises is filled with mud and drainage water. It is further stated that in reply to the application filed by the petitioner under the Right to Information Act, 2005 (for short, "the Act") respondent No.2 has informed through proceedings dated 17-8-2010 that the site in respect of which assessment is sought is undervalued and that the same cannot be assessed for the purpose of house-tax. It is further stated that if the petitioner claims to be the absolute owner of the property, she can make an application for construction of a building in terms of G.O.Ms.No.67, dated 26-2-2002. It is also averred that under G.O.Ms.No.282, PR, dated 12-2-1965 all the huts are exempted from assessment for house-tax. As rightly pointed out by Sri K.S. Murthy, learned counsel for the petitioner, whatever objections respondent No.2 find on the petitioner’s application, he shall dispose of the said application and communicate its decision to the petitioner in writing. Except the communication given under the Act, no decision as such has been taken by respondent No.2 on the petitioner’s application. If respondent No.2 is of the view that the property of the petitioner cannot be assessed for tax, it can by all means pass a reasoned order and communicate the same to the petitioner. As this procedure is not followed, the Writ Petition is disposed of with the direction to respondent No.2 to pass an appropriate order on the petitioner’s application and communicate the same to her within a period of one month from the date of receipt of a copy of this order. If the petitioner feels aggrieved by such communication, she shall be free to avail appropriate remedy in accordance with law. As a sequel to disposal of the Writ Petition, WPMP No.38309/2010 is disposed of as infructuous. ____________________ C.V.Nagarjuna Reddy.,J Date : 8-3-2011 Note : Furnish copy in one week AM