Andhra Pradesh High Court says no stay on Jagan’s housing scheme for poor

Vijayawada: The Andhra Pradesh high court on Thursday refused to stay Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy's ambitious welfare scheme for distribution of house sites to the poor. The government had repeatedly postponed the launch of the programme planned on a massive scale across the state due to legal hurdles.

The division bench comprising Chief Justice J.K. Maheshwari and Justice J. Uma Devi took up a public interest litigation against the launch on Thursday. The bench said it did not find any valid reason to entertain the plea for a stay and asked the state government to file a counter. The court posted the matter for January 21.

D.S.N.V. Prasad, counsel for petitioner M. Nagasankar of Vijayawada, argued that the government's decision to allot house sites in far off places would affect the livelihood of these people and also change the demographics. This would have a direct bearing on the reservation of Lok Sabha and Assembly constituencies, he said.

"No one is forcing them (beneficiaries) to take possession of the sites. It’s voluntary. Only those who want will take them," the bench responded.

The court, however, directed the government to not proceed with the distribution of sites in Gundlamadugu village of Kadapa district where the layout was formed out of 227 acres that were taken back from the AP Industrial Infrastructure Corporation. The question as to whether lands acquired for industrial purpose can be utilised for house sites needed a thorough examination, the court said.