THE HON’ BLE SRI JUSTICE NAGESH BHEEMAPAKA WRIT PETITION No.4684 of 2018

ORDER:

The case of the petitioner, as per the writ affidavit, is that he belongs to a displaced family affected by the Priyadarshini Jurala Project (PJP), having lost Ac. 0-05 guntas of ancestral agricultural land in Sy. No. 1200/2 and a dwelling house bearing No. 1-113, PJP No. 312, both of which were submerged due to the backwaters of the project. The Government awarded compensation vide Award No. 3/1996 dated 03.01.1996 for the land and Award No. 42/2005 dated 25.05.2005 for the house, with partial disbursal of compensation (Rs. 13,634/- for the house and Rs. 4,783/- as first installment for land), promising Government employment under G.O.Ms.No.98, dated 15.04.1986, which stipulates that one dependent of a displaced family—if there is no other earning member—shall be eligible for appointment to posts up to the level of Junior Assistant/Typist in Major & Medium Irrigation and Power Projects, subject to application within one year of actual displacement. The petitioner, educated up to 7^thclass and belonging to a poor family with agricultural background, submitted his employment application on 18.10.1996, within one year of the land Award, and another on 20.06.1997 at the request of the office of the 3^rdrespondent- Superintending Engineer, PJP Circle No.1, Gadwal, and his name was listed at Sl. No. 80 of a 101-member roster of displaced persons. However, by memo dated 18.10.1997, the District Collector’s office informed him that his application was forwarded to respondent No.3 but was “not traceable,” and instead attached another application dated 18.10.1997, which the petitioner disputes. Petitioner alleges that vested interests in the offices of respondent Nos.2 and 3 deliberately misplaced his 1996 application and substituted it with the 1997 version to wrongly disqualify him on the ground that it was filed beyond the stipulated one- year period. It is stated that in the minutes of the selection committee meeting dated 10.01.2008, culminating in proceedings dated 10.04.2008, his name was deleted from the roster, yet others similarly situated, including respondent No.5 (Sl. No. 83), whose name also appeared in the deletion list, were appointed. It is stated that his candidature was not considered under G.O.Ms.No.98. He filed RTI applications on 20.10.2017 but evasive response was given citing non- availability of 1996 records, while records from 1997 were conveniently available, thereby petitioner’s claim is being intentionally suppressed by officials. Aggrieved by denial of employment despite fulfilling eligibility under G.O.Ms.No.98, submission of timely application, and continuous follow-ups including numerous representations and filing of OA No. 8331/2011 before the A.P. Administrative Tribunal, the petitioner now challenges the impugned proceedings dated 10.04.2008 and letter dated 09.11.2017 issued by respondent No.3 as arbitrary and illegal, and seeks a direction to consider his application dated 18.10.1996 for employment in terms of G.O.Ms.No.98 dated

15.04.1986.

2. Heard Mr. K. Durga Prasad, learned counsel for the petitioner; Ms. B. Annapurna, learned Assistant Government Pleader for Services-I;

and Mr. N. Ramesh, learned counsel for respondent No.5. Perused the record.

3. A counter affidavit is filed by respondent No. 3 on behalf of respondents 1, 2, and 4, denying the petitioner’s claims as untenable and misconceived. The respondents rely on G.O. Ms. No. 98, dated 15.04.1986, which mandates that applications for employment by displaced persons must be submitted within one year of displacement, as per para 4(iii), and that only those losing cultivable land or having less than one acre are eligible, as per Memo No. 188/LAR-2/89-6, dated 19.04.1990. The petitioner’s land in Sy. No. 1200/2 (0.05 guntas) was acquired under Award No.3/1996, dated 03.01.1996, with compensation of Rs. 4,783/-, but his application dated 18.10.1997 was filed beyond the