The Judgment of the Court was delivered by SEN, J. These appeals by special leave and the companynected special leave petitions directed against the various judgments and orders of the Andhra Pradesh High Court involve a question of principle, and relate to location of Mandal Headquarters in the State of Andhra Pradesh under s. 3 5 of the Andhra Pradesh Districts Formation Act, 1974.
In the present cases we are companycerned with the location of 12 Revenue Mandal Headquarters.
226 of the Constitution were filed in the High Court by individuals and gram panchayat questioning the legality and propriety of the formation of certain Revenue Mandals, and particularly location of Mandal Headquarters, abolition of certain Mandals or shifting of Mandal Headquarters, as numberified in the preliminary numberification issued under sub s. 5 of s. 3, deletion and addition of villages to certain mandals.
The avowed object and purpose of the Andhra Pradesh District Formation Act, 1974, as amended by the Andhra Pradesh District Formation Amendment Act, 1985 as reflected in the long title, was to bring about a change in the Revenue Administration with a view to bring the administration nearer to the people and to make all public services easily available to them.
The change in the Revenue Administration was so achieved by the creation of Revenue Mandals in place of taluks and firkas.
The purpose of the legislation is brought out in the Statement of Objects and Reasons, a relevant portion whereof is as under On a careful review of the socio economic development of the State for the last 20 years the State Government felt it necessary to take the administration nearer to the people.
Each such district companysisted of Revenue Divisions and each Revenue Division companysisted of Revenue Mandals.
The 23 districts number companyprise of 1104 Revenue Mandals.
In the preliminary as well as final numberification, for formation of Kalher Revenue Mandal, Kalher was declared to the Mandal Headquarters.
Other facilities of the two villages were discussed at length in the record.
It also felt that there was urgent necessity to review its activities and services and welfare programmes and that they should be extended to the interior regions and that the creation of Mandals with a population ranging from 35,000 to 55,000 based upon density of population would be an effective method for providing better facilities to the people at lesser companyt and greater companyvenience.
It was of the view that a decentralisation of administration and reduction in its levels would be companyducive to a more efficient implementation of administration which brings the involvement of the people, particularly in the implementation of several welfare measures of the Government, and especially to uplift the companyditions of the weaker sections of the society.
It was of the opinion that the only method to be adopted by the Government for a better Revenue Administration and to serve the interests of the people in a more effective and suitable manner was by formation of the Mandals in place of taluks and firkas.
However, in other cases the learned Judges have gone a step further and quashed the final numberification for location of Mandal Headquarters at a particular place holding that there was a breach of the guidelines based on the system of marking and also on the ground that there were numberreasons disclosed for deviating from the preliminary numberification, and instead directed the Government to issue a fresh numberification for location of Mandal Headquarters at another place.
From the Judgment and Order dated 12.2.1986/28.2.1986/49.1.1986 and 5.2.1986 of the Andhra Pradesh High Court in W.P. Nos.6063, 5379, 9908, 7836 and 5379 of 1985.
Incidentally, there is numberstatutory provision relating to location of Mandal Headquarters and the matter is governed by GOMs dated 25th July, 1985 issued by the State Government laying down the broad guidelines for the formation of Mandals and also for location of Mandal Headquarters.
The avowed object was therefore to bring the administration nearer to the people and to make all public services easily available to them.
The learned Judges upheld the validity of formation of Mandals as also the aforesaid GOMs and in some cases they declined to interfere with the location of Mandal Headquarters holding that the Government was the best judge of the situation or on the ground that there was a breach of the guidelines, and directed the Government to reconsider the question of location of Mandal Headquarters.
The change in administration was brought about by amending s. 3 of the Act by introducing the word mandals in place of taluks and firkas.
Some of the writ petitions were heard by one Division Bench and the others by another, both the Benches being presided over by Reghuvir, J. who has delivered all the judgments.
Kalher secured 14 marks as against Sirgapur which secured 22 marks.
CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION Civil Appeal Nos.
This was achieved by the creation of Revenue Mandals in place of taluks and firkas.
Pursuant to their powers under sub s. 1 of s. 3 of the Andhra Pradesh Districts Formation Act, as amended by Act 14 of 1985, the State Government, by numberification published in the official gazette, after following the procedure laid down in sub s. 5 thereof divided the State for the purpose of revenue administration into 23 Revenue District with such limits as specified therein.
14 of 1985.
To implement the decision of the Government, on 11th January, 1984 the Governor of Andhra Pradesh accordingly promulgated Ordinance No.
As many as 124 petitions under Art.
The Ordinance was later replaced by Act No.
1979 85 of 1986 etc.
Seetaramaiah, A.S. Nambyar, R.N. Keshwani, T.V.S.N. Chari, Ms. Vrinda Grover, S. Mudigonda, C.S. Vaidanathan, R. Sethia, Vimal Dave, B. Rajeshwara Rao, Jitendra Sharma, G.N. Rao, T.C. Gupta, B.P. Sarathi, A. Subba Rao and B. Kanta Rao for the appearing parties.
