HYDERABAD: Justice B Vijaysen Reddy of the Telangana High Court on Friday directed the State government not to hold any meetings of the District Coordination Committees (DCC), which comprise Ministers, MPs, MLAs and MLCs as members, to confer rights over podu lands under the impugned GO 140, dated September 11, 2022, until further orders.
The court gave the direction after pursuing the petitioners’ contentions, stating that the said GO was not within the purview of the law. The court then adjourned the hearing on the two writ petitions to October 21, 2022.
Madi Sai Babu and three others of Pasara Nagaram village in Mulugu district, and Tejavath Shankar of Thavurya tanda in Bhadradri-Kothagudem district, along with two others filed two separate writs challenging the GO 140, Tribal Welfare (Services-II) Department, dated September 11, 2022.
The order relates to the constitution of District Coordination Committees for lands under podu cultivation and conferring the dweller’s rights on the land by inviting political representatives.The petitioners argued that the order was illegal, unfair, and in violation of the provisions of the Scheduled Tribes and other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act 2006 and Rules 2008.
Chikkudu Prabhakar and Ch Ravi Kumar, counsels for the petitioners, argued that the GO 140 is unconstitutional on the face of it and that the government was acting in bad faith by appointing district Ministers, MLAs and MPs to District Land Committees, in violation of the terms of the RoFR Act, 2006 and Rules, 2008.
Special Government Pleader Sanjeev Kumar said that the State’s goal was to prevent future encroachment on forest areas and has nothing to do with the resolution of claims on podu cultivation rights.When the court was about to order an interim suspension of the GO, the Special GP urged that the court provide a status quo ruling rather than an interim suspension. The court ruled that no more meetings should take place until further directions, and adjourned the writ petitions to October 21.