HON'BLE SRI JUSTICE C.V. NAGARJUNA REDDY W.P.No.7661 of 2010 Date : 5-12-2011 Between: Uppalapati Ramesh Babu .. Petitioner And Government of Andhra Pradesh, Represented by its Principal Secretary, Department of Social Welfare, Hyderabad and others .. Respondents Counsel for petitioner : Sri Venkata Rangadas Kanuri Counsel for respondent No.1 : Government Pleader for Social Welfare Counsel for respondent No.2: Government Pleader for Revenue Counsel for respondent No.3 : Smt.K. Aruna Counsel for respondent No.4 : Sri M. Prabhakar Rao The court made the following: ORDER: The petitioner, who is the owner of plot No.5 in the approved layout bearing L.P.No.9/2006/VJA, situated in R.S.No.227/3P of Penamaluru village, Krishna District, ﬁled this Writ Petition feeling aggrieved by the action of the respondents in transferring the property in favour of the Social Welfare Department for construction of a Boys Hostel for Backward Classes (for short “the Boys Hostel”) in the area earmarked for open space. It is the common case of the parties that in the above mentioned layout approved by the Vijayawada-Guntur-Tenali-Mangalagiri Urban Development Authority (VGTMUDA), an extent of 1258.4 sq. yards (1052.14 sq. mts) is kept as open space. Since the said land is vested in the Gram Panchayat, the Social Welfare Department of Government of Andhra Pradesh approached respondent No.2 with a request to sell part of the land for construction of the Boys Hostel. Respondent No.4 has passed a resolution in this regard on 10-12-2010 whereunder they have agreed to part with 583.56 sq. mts. of land for construction of the Boys Hostel. Respondent No.2 has passed order on 26-4-2010 for alienation of the said extent of land for the above mentioned purpose. At the hearing, the learned counsel for the petitioner submitted that when once the land is reserved for open space in an approved layout, the same cannot be converted for any other purpose without modifying the layout. This position is not disputed by any of the learned counsel appearing for the respondents. Until and unless the approved layout is amended or modiﬁed by the competent authority, no part of the open space can be utilized for the purpose of construction of any building. In Bangalore Medical Trust Vs. B.S. Muddappa [1], the Supreme Court deprecated the action of the authorities in converting a public park into a private Nursing Home. This Court is of the opinion that by converting the open spaces into buildings, the very purpose of reserving the open spaces for the beneﬁt of the inhabitants of the colony covered by the layout will be defeated. They will be deprived of proper air and ventilation. In the above circumstances, the action of the respondents in seeking to convert the open space into the Boys Hostel shall be termed as wholly illegal. Accordingly, the Writ Petition is allowed with the direction to the respondents to forbear from utilizing the open space in question for any other purpose so long as the approved layout is not revised or modified by the competent authority. As a sequel, interim order dated 12-4-2010 is vacated and WPMP No.9832/2010 and WVMP No.2556/2010 are dismissed as infructuous. ________________________ Justice C.V. Nagarjuna Reddy Date : 5-12-2011 AM [1] AIR 1991 S.C. 1902