AP HC Stays Construction of Houses for Poor at R-5 Zone in Amaravati

Vijayawada: Through an interim order, the Andhra Pradesh High Court on Thursday stayed the construction of houses in the R-5 Zone of capital region Amaravati. AP government sources said it would file an SLP in the Supreme Court for relief against the high court’s interim order. The High Court Bench observed: “Prima facie, this court is of the opinion that the Capital Region Development Authority Act, 2014, as it initially stood talked of affordable housing for land losers and others in the Land Pooling Scheme. “This indicated that the state government is conscious of the fact that the construction in the house site could be taken up only after the final order.” Though additional advocate general Ponnavolu Sudhakar tried to justify the clause as a “poor work done by the draftsman,” the court said that, prima facie, such a clause referred to further activities after the final orders issued by the High Court and the Supreme Court. A legal officer said, “The state government is in the process of finding a relief in the Supreme Court by filing an SLP.” The farmers from Amaravati too are planning to file a caveat in the Supreme Court in anticipation of AP state filing an SLP, so that the apex court would give a chance to the farmers to present their version.