IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE, ANDHRA PRADESH AT HYDERABAD (Special Original Jurisdiction) THURSDAY, THE TWENTY FOURTH DAY OF APRIL TWO THOUSAND AND EIGHT PRESENT THE HON'BLE MR JUSTICE GODA RAGHURAM WRIT PETITION NO : 5306 of 2005 Between: Ekalavya Sankshema Seva Sangham, (Regn.No. 213/2005) Rep. by its President Vadapalli Dasara, S/o. Erakaiah, Aged about 30 Years, Scheduled Tribe (Erukala), H.No. 1-24/24, Savitrinagar, Chinamushidivada, Pendurthi Mandal, Visakahaptnam District. ..... PETITIONER AND 1 District Collector, Visakhapatnam. 2 Mandal Revenue Officer, Pendurthi Mandal, Visakhapatnam District. 3 Visakhapatnam Urban Development Authority (VUDA), Visakhapatnam, Rep. by its Chairperson. .....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 issue an order, direction or writ more particularly one in the nature of Writ of Mandamus declaring that the action of the respondents 1 and 2 in not granting house-site pattas to the members of the petitioner society for their hutments located in Sy.No. 114, Chinamushidivada, Pendurthi Mandal, Visakhapatnam District, inspite of their eligibility being confirmed by enquiry by competent officials is arbitrary and illegal, and further directing them to issue such pattas forthwith, and pass such other order or orders Counsel for the Petitioner: MR.K.BALAGOPAL Counsel for the Respondent No.: GP FOR ASSIGNMENT The Court made the following: ORAL ORDER: The petitioner is a registered Sangham working for the benefit of and the interests of its members who are Scheduled Tribes belonging to Erukala S.T. Community. In substance, it seeks a direction to the respondents to grant house site pattas to its members for their hutments located in survey No. 114 of Chinnamushidivada, Pendurthi mandal, Vishakapatnam district. According to the petitioner-Sangham survey No. 114 comprises the Government land at the bottom of a hill slope described in the revenue records as ‘Hill pormboke’ not useful for cultivation or any other purposes. A number of Erukala families including the deponent’s parents are claimed to have set up thatched huts in the land in the said survey number and living there since 1990. Initially there were twelve families, in the year 2000 when Chinnamushidivada gram panchyat recommended for regularization of the hutments and grant of pattas. The second respondent is stated to have identified thirteen (13) families when he issued proceedings subsequently proposing grant of pattas to them. Currently there are twenty six (26) families occupying small extents of government land in survey No. 114. These families apprehend dispossession and displacement at any point of time and are aggrieved that their repeated representations for grant of pattas have not been considered despite a facilitative provision for such allotment in the Board Standing Order No.21. The petitioner-Sangham also pleads that on 03-07-2000 the second respondent in a Janma Bhoomi programme identified thirteen (13) houses for the purpose of grant of patas. The Revenue Divisional Officer, Vishakapatnam also referred to the second respondent’s proposals and sought further detailed information in a communication dated 16-04-2002 addressed to the second respondent. Despite these processes no concrete action has been taken for grant of house site pattas, is the grievance. In a counter affidavit filed by the second respondent, to the extent relevant and necessary it is pleaded that some Erukala families had entered in the government land in survey No. 114 and raised temporary sheds. Erukala families are habituated to migrate from place to place eking out livelihood; the desirous applicants who are members of the petitioner’s-Sangham have not ‘approached the higher authorities’ for obtaining house site pattas but have approached this Court. Insensitively the second respondent also states that the petitioner-Sangham is trying to increase the number of families and prolong the list so as to obtain ‘land possession certificate’. The second respondent also states that the writ petition is filed with a view to grab valuable government land. From the tone and tenor of the second respondent’s counter this Court is satisfied that the second respondent does not have adequate sensitivities to deal with a grievance of this nature. The petitioner, a Sangham is representing the interests of an inarticulate section of the Indian society who are not adequately empowered to energized a complacent administrative apparatus. The second respondent’s counter is a mechanical response to what ought to be a sensitive issue of the un-empowered section of the Indian society seeking the benefits of affirmative action. The petitioner- Sangham has already made representations which had been processed to an extent by the second respondent and recommended to the Revenue Divisional Officer who in turn sought further clarifications, but no further processing is done. In the circumstances the petitioner-Sangham and its members may submit within two weeks from the date of receipt of a copy of this order, representations to the first respondent seeking grant of house site pattas in the place of their habitat. On receipt of such applications and within a period of four weeks from the date of the last application so received, the first respondent shall cause expeditious enquiry into the claims of the members of the petitioner-Sangham, call for a report if needed from other hierarchies of Revenue and other departments as may be required and shall pass appropriate orders or cause appropriate orders to be passed by the competent authority, for grant of house site pattas to the applicants in accordance with the extant guidelines and rules on the subject and consistent with the principles of equal treatment under the laws mandated by the Article 14 of the Constitution of India. Till such decision is taken by the first respondent and duly communicated to the petitioner-Sangham and the other applicants for grant of house site patas, the occupants of the land belonging to the Erukala community in survey No. 114 shall not be dispossessed except in accordance with the procedure established by law. The writ petition is disposed of as above. There shall be no order as to costs. ____________________ GODA RAGHURAM, J Dated: 24-04-2008 Pvks/*