ORDER:

Heard, learned counsel for the petitioner, learned Government Pleader for Forest appearing for respondent Nos.1 and 3, learned Government Pleader for Tribal Welfare appearing for respondent No.2 and learned Government Pleader for Revenue appearing for respondent Nos.4 and 5. With their consent this writ petition is taken up for disposal at the admission stage itself.

2. This writ petition is filed seeking the following:-

“to declare the undated show-cause Eviction Notice issued by Respondent No.3 under the Telangana Forests Act, 1967 as illegal, arbitrary, violative of Articles 14, 19(1) and 21 of the Constitution of India, contrary to the Scheduled Tribes and other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 more particularly Section 4(5) and without considering individual claim of the Petitioner dated 11.11.2021 recorded in Claim Register page No.71, and Consequently set-aside the undated show-cause Eviction Notice issued by Respondent No.3 and also Direct the Respondent Nos.4 and 5 to consider the Representation dated 19.06.2023 including the individual claim of the Petitioner dated 11.11.2021 recorded in Claim Register page No.71 by granting individual patta to Petitioner as per the Scheduled Tribes and other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006.”

3. The case of the petitioner is that he belongs to Chenchu Community, which is recognized as “Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups” by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Government of India, vide notification F.No.11011/01/2019-EMRS/PVTG, dated 17.09.2019. The further case of the petitioner is that he is dependent upon the age-old practices of cultivation, fishing, grazing and collection of minor forest products such as wax, fruits, honey etc., for his livelihood and after collecting the said forest produce, the same are supplied to the Girijan Cooperative Corporation and eking out livelihood on the meager amounts paid by the said Corporation. Further case of the petitioner is that in order to claim individual and community forest right pattas as per Sections 3 and 4 of the Scheduled Tribes and other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 (for short “Forest Act, 2006”) and the procedure encapsulated in Rule 3(1) of the Scheduled Tribes and other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Rules, 2008 (for short ‘ROFR Rules), Grama Sabha meetings were convened to form Forest Rights Committees (hereinafter referred to as ‘FRC’) in eight villages of three Mandals of Nagarkurnool District. On 28.09.2021, Grama Sabha of his village has passed a resolution electing 15 Chenchus to form FRC.

4. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that all the Presidents of FRCs of Nagarkurnool submitted a representation, dated 19.06.2023 before the respondent No.4 requesting to grant individual pattas to the Chenchus and the petitioner also submitted an individual claim/representation dated 11.11.2021, which was accepted and recorded in Claim Register at Page No.71 by Panchayat Secretary, Bommanapally Village. It is further submitted that the respondent No.3, without following the procedure contemplated under the Forest Act, 2006 and the ROFR Rules, issued notice seeking to evict petitioner from the lands in occupation, on the ground that the petitioner have violated Sections 20(1)(C), II, III, IV, (VII) &

IX and Section 20(3) of Telangana Forest Act, 1967.

5. The main grievance of the petitioner is that without considering the petitioner representation for grant of individual pattas, the respondents are taking steps to evict him from the lands in occupation. Learned counsel for the petitioner further submitted that this Court in similar circumstance in W.P.No.23667 of 2024 and batch dated

29.08.2024, has passed the following order:-

“8) In the instant cases, since it is the case of the petitioners that they belong to Chenchu Community and eking out their livelihood by supplying the forest produce