IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE, ANDHRA PRADESH AT HYDERABAD (Special Original Jurisdiction) WEDNESDAY, THE TWENTY FOURTH DAY OF SEPTEMBER TWO THOUSAND AND EIGHT PRESENT THE HON'BLE MR JUSTICE V.V.S.RAO WRIT PETITION NO : 19294 of 2002 Between: K. Mahala Rani, D/o K. Gopala Rao, R/o 12-2-709/97, Navodaya Colony, Mehdipatnam, Hyderabad. ..... PETITIONER AND 1 The Vice Chairman & Housing Commissioner, Andhra Pradesh Housing Board M.J. Road, Hyderabad. 2 The Executive Engineer (Housing), North Division, Andhra Pradesh Housing Board Hyderabad. .....RESPONDENTS Petition under Article 226 of the constitution of India praying that in the circumstances stated in the Aﬃdavit ﬁled herein the High Court will be pleased to to issue an appropriate writ, order or direction, more particularly one in the nature of Writ of Mandamus, declaring the action of the respondents in not considering the representation submitted by the petitioner on 20-10-2001 and thereby issuing the Auction Notiﬁcation dated 23-9-2002 vide No.3547/HD/EE(N)/2002, inspite of the petitioner is ready to pay the cost of the land, as illegal, arbitrary, discriminatory and violative of Art. 14 of the Constitution India and consequently direct the respondents herein to allot the land admeasuring 130 Sq.Yds. adjacent to H,No.70 MIG Gachibowli, Hyderabad, to the petitioner, and to grant such other relief or reliefs as this Hon'ble Court deems ﬁt and proper in the circumstances of the case. Counsel for the Petitioner: MR.PALLENAGESWAR RAO Counsel for the Respondents: MS.G.SUDHA The Court made the following Order: THE HON'BLE SRI JUSTICE V.V.S.RAO WRIT PETITION No.19294 of 2002 ORDER: The petitioner was allotted plot No.70 MIG at Gatchi Bowli in Andhra Pradesh Housing Board (APHB) colony. There is a stray piece of vacant site admeasuring 130 sq. yards near her house. It appears that Government of Andhra Pradesh issued G.O.Ms.No.49 dated 25.07.2001 permitting APHB to allot vacant land at market price to adjacent owners even where the land exceeds 100 sq. yards. This was done in relaxation of the orders issued in G.O.Ms.No.38 dated 30.05.1997. Be that as it is APHB issued auction notification dated 25.09.2002 proposing to sell these vacant sites situated at Gatchi Bowli. One such plot is vacant site adjacent to petitioner’s house. Aggrieved by the same, the petitioner ﬁled instant writ petition. The petitioner contends that APHB allotting land to other persons in other colonies in relaxation of the orders in G.O.Ms.No.38 dated 30.05.1997 and not extending such beneﬁt to her is discriminatory. Second respondent ﬁled counter-aﬃdavit denying the petitioner’s contentions. The gist of second respondent’s case is found in para 5 of the counter-aﬃdavit, which for ready reference is extracted below. As regards the allegations made in para-4 of the aﬃdavit, I submit that there is an adjacent land of about 130 sq.yards. It is not correct to state that the said land is not in the regular shape. It is also not correct to state that the measurements do not permit any other public purposes as per the Municipal bye-laws. It is submitted that this is not meant for a public purpose. It is submitted that by virtue of G.O.Ms.No.38 Housing (HB-II) dated 30.05.1997 the respondent Board can allot only the plots of the area less than 100 sq.yards only by way of negotiation and allotment. It is not correct to state that the AP Housing Board sold open plots to all the adjacent owners under G.O.Ms.No.49. However having regard to the speciﬁc particular case and the ground situation, some plots might have been sold but that has no universal application and the case of the petitioner cannot be considered as an appropriate and genuine one. The Housing Board is interested in getting the maximum amount from a particular piece of land and as a matter of fact, if the petitioner is so keen, he could have participated in the auction and knocked down the bid. Counsel made their submissions. Learned standing counsel also brought to the notice of this Court an unreported decision of a Division Bench of this Court in Abdul Irfan Amoodi v A.P. Housing Board [1] wherein this Court reiterated the principle that while disposing of the public property as a rule it should be sold in a public auction. Secondly as rightly contended by leaned standing counsel G.O.Ms.No.38 dated 30.05.1997 enures to the beneﬁt of allottee only when adjacent land is less than 100 sq. yards and there is no objection from municipal corporation for allotting the same otherwise than public auction. If the land is commercial even then there is no obligation on the part of APHB to allot the same otherwise than public auction. This principle adumbrated in said G.O. is in accordance with Rule 29 of the Andhra Pradesh Housing Board Rules, 1959, which mandates that APHB shall lease or sell land or building by way of public auction. For the above brief reasons, the writ petition does not merit any consideration and the same is accordingly dismissed. No costs. _____________ (V.V.S.RAO, J) 24th September, 2008 GHN To 1 The Vice Chairman & Housing Commissioner, Andhra Pradesh Housing Board M.J. Road, Hyderabad. 2 The Executive Engineer (Housing), North Division, Andhra Pradesh Housing Board Hyderabad. 3 2CD copies Form-NIC-OGS/WP{PRASAD} [1] W.A.No.884 of 2006 dated 23.08.2006