The Telangana High Court on Thursday disposed of a petition filed by BRS leader and Siddipet MLA T Harish Rao, who sought directions to implement the farm loan waiver scheme for farmers in his constituency.
Court's Observation
Justice Surepalli Nanda, while hearing the petition, observed that a writ of mandamus cannot be invoked for issues concerning the larger public interest and that such matters should be raised through a public interest litigation (PIL). The court declined the request to convert the petition into a PIL but allowed the petitioner to file a fresh PIL.
Petition Withdrawn
At the request of the petitioner's counsel, the court permitted the withdrawal of the petition with liberty to file a fresh PIL. Harish Rao had alleged that in his constituency, which spans five mandals, the loan waiver of Rs 2 lakh was disbursed to only about 20,000 farmers, while over 22,000 farmers were yet to receive the benefit.
Allegations and Government Response
The BRS leader claimed that although the Chief Minister had announced that the benefit would be disbursed by August 15, 2024, many farmers had not received it. He said that as the local MLA, farmers were repeatedly approaching him due to the delay. His counsel informed the bench that similar petitions had been granted relief in the past.
However, the state counsel opposed the petition, arguing that the petitioner could file a PIL on behalf of the farmers. The counsel stated, "If this petition is allowed, every MLA will start filing petitions like this." The judge advised the counsel to withdraw the petition to avoid an adverse order.
Liberty to File PIL
Recording the withdrawal request, the judge disposed of the petition while granting the petitioner the liberty to file a PIL in the matter. Harish Rao maintained that the delay in implementing the farm loan waiver scheme was causing hardship to thousands of farmers in his constituency.
