MADURAI: The Madurai Bench of Madras High Court has imposed Rs 50,000 cost on a real estate broker for 'unnecessarily' questioning a welfare scheme introduced by the state government granting free house site pattas to people belonging to Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe communities in the state.
The amount should be paid to the district adi dravidar welfare officer of Ramanathapuram to be utilized for providing basic amenities for the Adi Dravidar Welfare High School, Sengapadai in Kamuthi taluk of Ramanathapuram district, the court said.
The petitioner K Amalraj of Mudukulathur in Ramanathapuram district had challenged Clause 4(d) of a G.O. passed by the revenue and disaster management department on January 13, 2021. The said clause stipulates that the beneficiaries of the scheme are prevented from selling the land awarded to them till the expiry of the conditional assignment period of 10 years and even then, the land could be sold only to another person belonging to SC/ST community, he pointed out. Claiming that the said clause is discriminatory, he requested the court to declare it as void.
A bench of justices SM Subramaniam and AD Maria Clete observed that the ground raised by the petitioner is untenable. "The very intention under the welfare scheme is to ensure that such lands acquired and allotted to the ST/ST people must be occupied by the people from the same community.
That being the purpose and object for which the lands are acquired, then the government is empowered to impose such conditions in order to protect the interest and well being of the SC/ST people on allotment of free house site patta," they added.
Further considering the contention of the government counsel that the petitioner being a real estate broker, has filed the petition for personal gains to purchase the lands from the SC/ST people and sell the same to third parties, the judges dismissed the petition by imposing Rs 50,000 cost.