IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE, ANDHRA PRADESH AT HYDERABAD (Special Original Jurisdiction) THURSDAY, THE TWENTY FOURTH DAY OF JULY TWO THOUSAND AND EIGHT PRESENT THE HON'BLE SRI JUSTICE C.V.NAGARJUNA REDDY WRIT PETITION NO : 20216 of 2000 Between: Byrapuram Vengamma, W/o. late Rama Krishna Reddy, R/o. Thippaipally Village, Orwakal Mandal, Kurnool District. ..... PETITIONER AND 1 The Collector, ( Land Acquisition Officer ), Kurnool District, Kurnool. 2 The Revenue Divisional Officer,( Land Acquisition Officer ), Kurnool Division, Kurnool. ...RESPONDENTS Counsel for the Petitioner:MR.M.DAMODAR REDDY Counsel for the Respondents: AGP FOR LAND ACQUISITION The Court made the following : O R D E R: This writ petition is filed for a writ of Mandamus to direct the respondents to expedite enquiry into the acquisition of land pending with respondent No.2 pertaining to sub-irrigation tank existing in Survey No.153/2 of Thippaipalli Village, Orvakal Mandal, Kurnool District. The petitioner was the owner of certain lands in Survey Nos.153/1B, 153/2, 154/A2, 154/B2 and 182/A1 of Thippaipalli Village, Orvakal Mandal, Kurnool District. The said lands were acquired by the respondents under Gazette notification dated 16-06-1998 issued under Section 4(1) of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 (for short ‘the Act’) by dispensing with enquiry under Section 5-A of the Act. The petitioner claimed that she constructed a sub-irrigation tank with a height of 1.5 meters and bund with 300 meters length. She claimed that though her lands were notified for acquisition, the tank was not and that during the award enquiry, she raised the said issue. She, however, pleaded that in the month of December, 1998, compensation at the rate of Rs.38,000/- per acre was fixed and paid to her without paying any compensation towards the sub-irrigation tank. She referred to the various internal correspondence between the Revenue Authorities and the Engineers of Minor Irrigation Works. Since the said correspondence did not crystallize into any concrete decision to formally acquire the tank of the petitioner and pay compensation in respect thereof, she filed the present writ petition. Heard Sri M. Damodar Reddy, learned counsel for the petitioner, and learned Assistant Government Pleader for Land Acquisition. No counter-affidavit is filed by the respondents. A perusal of the record shows that on 11-06-1998, a representation was made from B.Shankar Reddy, S/o B.Jayarami Reddy, wherein it is claimed that while notifying the lands for acquisition, the irrigation tank is left out and he requested the Executive Engineer, Department of Minor Irrigation to conduct resurvey of the lands and take necessary action. A similar representation was made to respondent No.1 on 10-10-1998. On 27-01-1999, the Mandal Revenue Officer, Orvakal Mandal, Kurnool District, addressed a letter to respondent No.2 and the Executive Engineer, Minor Irrigation, wherein he stated that he directed the Mandal Surveyor to conduct enquiry and send a report and that the latter reported that a small tank was in existence in Survey No.153/2. On receipt of the said letter, respondent No.2, vide his letter dated 07-05-1999 addressed to the Executive Engineer, Minor Irrigation Works, Division (West), Kurnool, reminded him to send requisition and estimates of the tank for taking further action in view of existence of the tank. He stated therein that in his letter dated 15-04-1999, the Executive Engineer, merely sent the estimates of the tank without requisition. The Executive Engineer, in his letter dated 27-05-1999, addressed to respondent No.2, reconfirmed existence of the tank and sending of estimates. Letter dated 15-11-1999 addressed by the Executive Engineer, Irrigation Division, Minor Irrigation Works, Kurnool to respondent No.2 shows that, Sri A.Sivaramaiah, Advocate, served statutory notice under Section 80 CPC to acquire the small irrigation tank. He further stated that the value of the tank was estimated at Rs.1,87,719/- and requested respondent No.2 to acquire the said tank under the Act. At the hearing, the learned counsel for the petitioner furnished a copy of the legal notice sent by Sri A.Sivaramaiah, Advocate, which shows that the same was sent in the name of the petitioner- B.Eswaramma, W/o Ramachandra Reddy; B.S.Narayana Reddy, S/o B.Jayarami Reddy and B.Shankar Reddy, S/o B.Jayarami Reddy. From the above mentioned correspondence, it is clearly evident that the petitioner is one of the persons who is interested in the tank which was admittedly taken over by the respondents, but no compensation has been paid in respect thereof. Though the Executive Engineer in the letter last referred to hereinabove clearly estimated the value of the tank at Rs.1,87,719/- and requested for initiation of acquisition proceedings, respondent No.2, for reasons which are not revealed, failed to initiate any proceedings under the Act for acquiring the said leftover tank. In this writ petition neither of the respondents had come out with any reason for not initiating the proceedings under the Act. Therefore, no other option is left to this Court but to allow the writ petition and direct the respondents to immediately initiate the proceedings under the Act for acquiring the above mentioned sub- irrigation tank by issuing notification under Section 4(1) of the Act, within a period of two months from the date of receipt of a copy of this order. The respondents shall complete the acquisition proceedings, within a period of three months thereafter, and pay compensation to the petitioner and the other interested parties, within a period of two months thereafter. C.V.NAGARJUNA REDDY, J Dated 24th July, 2008 vrn