VIJAYAWADA: The Andhra Pradesh High Court has made it clear that the land classified as ‘Mandabayalu’ (land used for grazing cattle etc) cannot be used by the respective panchayats for construction of Rythu Bharosa Kendram, Wellness Centre or Village Secretariat.
The Court said that the land classified thus can only be used for grazing cattle and related uses and not for any other purposes and the onus of safeguarding such land also lies with the state government.
As per Board Standing Order (BSO) the land classified as ‘Mandabayaulu’ cannot be used for any other purpose without changing it to ‘Assigned Waste Dry’ land in the records. In case no such process was taken up, the said panchayat will not have any rights over the land.
The observations were made in a recent judgment by Justice M Satyanarayana Murthy in a batch of petitions filed challenging the construction of Rythu Bharosa Kendram, Wellness Centre or Village Secretariat in 24 cents of land in Mutyalapalli village of Mogalthooru mandal in West Godavari district.
Kollati Edukondalu and three others petitioned the High Court claiming that the land was allocated to them through DKT pattas. In his judgement, Justice Satyanarayana Murthy said that the disputed land – survey number 74/3 – was claimed to be ‘Mandabayaulu’ in the counter filed by panchayat and mandal revenue officials.
The officials claimed that the DKT pattas for the said land were secured using forged signatures of the then tahsildar, but they failed to produce evidence to support their claim. Even if going by the statements of the officials that the said land is ‘Mandabayaulu’, no construction can be carried out. Officials were directed not to take up any construction in the said land.
Judge sworn-in
Justice Ravinath Tilahari was sworn in as the judge of the Andhra Pradesh High Court on Monday. In a ceremony held at the First Court Hall, Chief Justice Prashant Kumar Misra administered oath of office and secrecy to Justice Ravinath.
