Andhra Pradesh: Amaravati farmer files SLP in Supreme Court praying for stay on G.O. 45 allotting house sites in proposed R5 zone

Chief Justice of India says the petition will be heard on April 14; the farmer moves the apex court after the Andhra Pradesh High Court refuses to issue interim orders against the impugned G.O. 45

Aggrieved by the Andhra Pradesh High Court’s refusal to issue interim orders against the allotment of house sites to the Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) in the proposed R5 zone in Amaravati, U. Sivaiah, a farmer belonging to Kuragallu village in Mangalagiri mandal of Guntur district, filed a Special Leave Petition (SLP) in the Supreme Court on April 6 (Thursday) praying for a stay on G.O. Ms. No. 45, dated March 31, 2023.

After taking cognisance of the SLP, Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud said it would be heard on April 14 and not April 10 as requested by the petitioner’s counsel because the list of cases for that date had already been prepared.

In his petition, Mr. Sivaiah said he had urgently moved the High Court challenging the legality of the impugned G.O. on the ground that the State was attempting to create a fait accompli that would permanently alter the character of the land given up by him voluntarily under the Land Pooling Scheme (LPS) for the purpose of construction of the capital city of Amaravati.

He insisted that implementation of the G.O. would create an irreversible situation, notwithstanding the fact that a full Bench of the High Court had unequivocally held that the State was bound to implement the Amaravati capital city master plan (to which certain changes were made unilaterally) and the LPS on the terms promised to the erstwhile landowners.

The said G.O. was in violation of the A.P. Capital Region Development Authority (AP-CRDA) Act, 2014, and A.P. Capital City Land Pooling Scheme (Formulation and Implementation) Rules, 2015.

But, the High Court did not grant interim relief and posted the matter for further hearing to April 19, which risked his petition and also the High Court full Bench’s Amaravati judgment dated March 3, 2022, becoming infructuous.