The Andhra Pradesh High Court imposed a stay on the construction of houses for Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) in R-5 zone in Amaravati.
A full Bench comprising Justices D.V.S.S. Somayajulu, Cheekati Manavendranath Roy and Ravinath Tilhari issued an interim order to that effect on Thursday.
They had reserved the verdict on July 22 after hearing a batch of interlocutory applications that challenged the carrying out of works for constructing the houses during the pendency of writ petitions filed against the modifications made in Amaravati master plan for creating the R-5 zone.
Some people don’t want poor to live in R-5 zone in Amaravati: Jagan
Two days later, Chief Minister Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy laid the foundation for the houses at Krishnayapalem (on July 24).
The allotment of house sites and construction of houses for beneficiaries from other parts of Guntur and Krishna districts in the R-5 zone and the validity of creation of the zone itself were challenged by farmers.
Their basic argument has been that the lands constituting the R-5 zone are meant for development of the capital city and no other activity could be undertaken there.