Shock to Amaravati farmers as Supreme Court upholds R5 Zone house sites for poor

NEW DELHI: Puncturing the attempts of Amaravati farmers and strengthening the hands of the Andhra Pradesh Government, the Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld the allotment of house sites to the weaker sections in the R5 Zone of the capital region.

In what would be a rude shock to the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and others propping the Amaravati farmers’ opposition to the initiative of the YSRCP regime of YS Jaganmohan Reddy, a division bench of the apex court emphatically stated that the government had every right to distribute house sites to the poor. Giving its green signal for the state government’s decision, the Supreme Court observed that the law envisaged five percent allotment of house sites to the economically weaker sections (EWS).

Quoting Section 53.1D of the Capital Region Development Authority (CRDA) Act, the division bench headed by Justice K M Joseph Supreme Court ruled that the State Government had the authority to distribute house sites to the poorer sections of the society.

Also read: Amaravati farmers move Supreme Court, seek stay on HC verdict on R5 Zone

The Supreme Court ruling upholds a similar view taken earlier by the Andhra Pradesh High Court on the issue. On May 5, 2023, a division bench of the High Court headed by Chief Justice Prashanth Kumar Mishra dismissed the petitions of the Amaravati capital area farmers challenging the Government Order allocating house sites for non-locals and low income groups as part of the R5 Zone of the capital region.

Also read: Andhra Pradesh High Court dismisses plea against Amaravati weaker section housing

Expressing his displeasure at the farmers’ plea, the chief justice then maintained that allocation of house sites to the poorer sections was also tantamount to development of the capital region. The issue then moved to the Supreme Court with the unrelenting farmers filing a special leave petition (SLP) challenging the Andhra Pradesh High Court verdict and seeking annulment of the relevant GO issued by the State Government. When the petition came up for hearing before the division bench, Justice Abhay Oka and Justice Rajesh Bindal not only refused to give interim directions staying the high court ruling but also directed the registry to transfer the petition to the Justice K M Joseph bench which is already hearing petitions pertaining to the Amaravati capital dispute.