GO to dissolve Bhoodan Board set aside by High Court

Hyderabad: Justice Challa Kodanda Ram of the Hyderabad High Court on Wednesday suspended a GO issued by the AP government dissolving the AP Bhoodan Yagna Board. The judge was granting the interim order in a petition by K.V. Subba Rao and two other members of the Board challenging a GO issued on January 20, 2015 dissolving the Board constituted by the erstwhile United AP government on December 14, 2012.

The AP government has dissolved the existing Board stating that huge extents of Bhoodan Lands are available in 13 districts of AP and there was urgent need to protect these lands as the district collector, Visakhapatnam has brought to its notice about the irregular land allotments made by the Bhoodan Board in Paradeshipalem village of the district. The petitioners contended that it was settled under law that even an administrative order of the composite state would bind on the successor state and therefore the reconstitution of the Board by the United AP in 2012 should continue till the expiry of its term in 2016. Counsel for the government contended that the successor state has power to constitute its own Board after the bifurcation of the erstwhile United AP on June 2, 2014, in accordance with the Bhoodan and Gramdan Act.

After hearing the case, the judge pointed out that the GO issued by the government to dissolve the Board suffers from infirmity of violating the pre conditions for the government exercising its power under Section 9(4) of the Bhoodan Act.The judge said. “In that view of the matter, I am inclined to suspend the GO.” Meanwhile, the And-hra Pradesh government has decided to implead itself in the case on scrapping of AP Bhoodan Yagna Board by Telangana.

Deputy Chief Minis-ter K.E. Krishna Murthy said the state government is also considering the reconstitution of the Board after taking legal opinion. He said the revenue department had directed the Collectors of all the 13 districts to take up survey of the status and extent of Grama Kantham lands, assig-ned lands and bhoodan lands using Google maps to know the extent of land it has in its ‘land Bank’ and reveal irregularities in allotment of these lands to the people.