THE HIGH COURT FOR THE STATE OF TELANGANA AT HYDERABAD THE HONOURABLE SRI JUSTICE SUDDALA CHALAPATHI RAO

28^th JANUARY, 2026 Between:

Mr.S.Raja Bhadraiah and others ...Petitioners and Greater Warangal Municipal Corporation, rep. by its Commissioner Warangal and others.

...Respondents

ORDER

The present Writ Petition is filed seeking the following relief/s:

“...to issue an appropriate Writ, Order or Direction, more particularly one in the nature of Writ of Mandamus:

i) to declare action of the first respondent Municipal Corporation in filling wastage and drainage water in private patta lands/house sites of the petitioners in Sy. Nos. 522, 523, 525, 526, 355, 356, 358, 359, 360, 361, 362, 364, 365, 366, 374, 47 and 48 of Matwada Village totaling to an extent of Ac.120.00 as illegal arbitrary, unjust apart from violative of principles of natural justice; and ii) to consequently direct the first respondent Municipal Corporation to prevent flowing of the wastage and drainage water into private patta lands and the house sites of the petitioners located in Sy. Nos. 522, 523, 525, 526, 355, 356, 358, 359, 360, 361, 362, 364, 365, 366, 374, 47 and 48 of Matwada Village; and iii) pass such other order or orders as this Court deems fit, proper and appropriate in the circumstances of the case.”

2. Heard Mr.Nandigam Krishna Rao, learned Senior Counsel representing Mr.Akhil Ennamsetty, learned counsel for the petitioners as well as Mr.Pasham Mohith, learned Standing Counsel for Greater Warangal Municipal Corporation appearing on behalf of respondent No.1 and Sri. Laxmalla Sandeep, learned Assistant Government Pleader for Irrigation and Command Area Development/CAD appearing on behalf of respondent No.2. Perused the record.

3. Learned counsel for the petitioners contended that Sy.No.352 of Matwada Village, Warangal, admeasuring Ac.159.00 guntas, is classified as shikam poramboke land and is popularly known as Kota Cheruvu, however, according to the petitioners, there has never been any lake or pond in the said land. It is further submitted that historically the said area formed part of the prakarams surrounding the Warangal Fort, which were constructed with mud, stone, and water during the Kakatiya dynasty, and after the fall of the dynasty, the ruined portions came to be treated as poramboke land. Therefore, merely because the land is called Kota Cheruvu, it cannot be treated as a lake or pond in the strict sense, nor can it be governed by the standing orders relating to ruined watercourses. It is further contended that the petitioners have purchased private patta lands in various survey numbers adjoining Sy.No.352 after layout approvals and mutations in revenue records and some have constructed houses or compound walls thereon. It is alleged that the respondents, instead of allowing only surplus rainwater through the under tunnels constructed in 1974 from the Kakatiya Canal, are diverting sewage and drain water into Sy.No.352, which stagnates and overflows into the petitioners’ lands in Sy.Nos. 522, 523, 525, 526, 355, 356, 358, 359, 360, 361, 362, 364, 365, 366, 374, 47 and 48 of Matwada Village totaling to an extent of Ac.120.00 and causing severe pollution, health hazards, and deprivation of their right to life and enjoyment of property under Article 21 of the Constitution of India. Further, in view of the Pollution Control Board’s report indicating contamination and high Biochemical Oxygen Demand/BOD levels due to sewage inflow, the petitioners assert that their lands cannot be treated as part of the Full Spread Area of Sy.No.352 and that the respondents’ action in allowing sewage to flow into their lands is illegal, arbitrary, and violative of principles of natural justice. Hence, prayed to allow the Writ Petition.

4. Per contra, learned Standing Counsel for respondent No.1/Greater Warangal Municipal Corporation (GWMC), submitted that under the Smart Cities Programme, the Corporation undertook construction of three Sewage Treatment Plants (STP