Vijayawada: In a relief to the farmers, the AP High Court has issued a ‘Status Quo’ interim order on implementation of GO316 dealing with cancellation of allotment of returnable plots that were made to buyers of assigned lands under the land pooling scheme in the capital Amaravati region.
A single judge bench of Justice D Ramesh heard the petition on Monday and issued the order.
Petitioner’s counsel argued it was illegal to cancel allotment of returnable plots made to the buyers of assigned lands under category (iv) of GO-MS41 of the municipal administration and urban development department under the Land Pooling System, and the government taking them back. He urged the court to issue a direction to the government to honour the earlier decision to allot returnable plots.
The court, in response, directed the Amaravati metropolitan region development authority not to initiate any action pertaining to implementation of the GO 316.
The state government in its order mentioned that section of 3(1) of Andhra Pradesh Assigned Lands (Prohibition of Transfer) Act, 1977 prohibited the transfer of assigned land by the assignees to the purchasers, maintaining that the assigned land was intended for the purpose of helping the landless poor eke out a livelihood and purchase of assigned land is violation of Prohibition of Transfer; and so, treating ‘Sivaijamadars’ through GO-MS41, municipal administration and urban development was a violation of provisions of the AP Assigned Lands Act, 1977.
Hence, the allotment of returnable plots, both residential and commercial, to the land purchasers of the assigned land is in violation of the Act of 1977 under the land pooling scheme, it was submitted.
