ORDER

(per C.Praveen Kumar, J)

st

1. The action of the 1 respondent in trying to take away the nd property of the 2 respondent admeasuring Ac.3.23 cents situated at Pedanandipadu Mandal, Guntur District and trying to use the same for issuance of house site pattas, is subject matter of challenge in the present Writ Petition.

2. The averments in the affidavit filed in support of this Public Interest Litigation, filed by Subhiksha Social Service Society, show that nd the 2 respondent – Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC) purchased Ac.5.53 cents of land in Sy.No.83/1 of Pedanandipadu Village, Guntur District in the year 1985, for construction of bus stand and a depot. Later on, a bus stand was constructed in land admeasuring Ac.2.30 cents of land and the remaining extent is lying vacant from the date of its purchase. On coming to know about the nd rd same, the petitioner-society made an application to 2 and 3 respondents for usage of the said land, for raising bio diesel plants and rd fodder plants. The 3 respondent by his letter, dated 27.10.2009, addressed to the Joint Director, Animal Husbandry, Guntur, stated that the request of the petitioner cannot be considered as they intend to use it for other activities. As the land was not put to use for considerable period of time, the petitioner-society made another application for allotment of the said land to raise bio-diesel plants, but, there was no nd reply from the 2 respondent. While matters stood thus, it has come to st the knowledge of the petitioner that the 1 respondent is trying to take nd over the vacant land of the 2 respondent, for allotment of house sites to landless poor persons under “Pedalandariki Illu Scheme”. Hence, the present Writ Petition came to be filed challenging the same.

3. The main contention of Ms. Pranathi, learned counsel for the petitioner, is that, land which is meant for construction of bus depot or for any other purpose, which is beneficial to the public at large, cannot be nd acquired for house site pattas. According to her, though the 2 th respondent addressed a letter to the 4 respondent i.e., District Collector, Guntur, requesting him to drop the proposal of taking over the said land for issuance of house site pattas, the revenue officials are leveling the land and taking steps for distributing the land to landless poor persons. It is further urged by her that even the petitioner made a representation th dated 24.02.2020, requesting the 4 respondent not to take over the land nd of the 2 respondent, as the residents of Pedanandipadu Village would be put to loss in getting employment opportunities, but there was no response to the same.

4. A common counter came to be filed by Respondent Nos.2 and 3. In paragraph-3 of the counter it has been specifically stated that APSRTC has acquired land in the year 1988 vide Award No.6 of 1988 dated 04.04.2018 and an amount of Rs.1,43,421/- was paid as compensation. After construction of a bus stand, the remaining portion of the land was kept vacant for construction of a garage and other developmental works. The Tahsildar was also informed about the manner in which the property came to be acquired by the APRTC. The averments in the counter also show that APSRTC is trying to construct a bus depot with electrical buses, to cater to the needs of commuters of surrounding towns under FAME-II Scheme of Central Government, to reduce green house gases emitted by diesel/fossil fuels. The Regional Manager has addressed a letter to the District Collector requesting him to drop the proposal as the said land is essential for the construction of bus depot to cater to the needs of commuters of the surrounding towns. Similar such letter was addressed by the Executive Director (A), APSRTC House, Vijayawada, requesting the District Collector to drop the proposal of taking over the above site. It is further stated that mere merging of the employees of the APSRTC into the Government service does not automatically