APHC010260942026 IN THE HIGH COURT OF ANDHRA PRADESH AT AMARAVATI (Special Original Jurisdiction) [3327] MONDAY, THE TWENTY SECOND DAY OF JUNE TWO THOUSAND AND TWENTY SIX PRESENT THE HONOURABLE SRI JUSTICE K SREENIVASA REDDY WRIT PETITION NO: 14291/2026 Between: 1. K SWAMINADHAM, S/O. RAMU, AGED 46 YEARS, OCC CHAIRMAN VLC, RONGALINAIDUPALEM AND CONTRACTOR, RIO. RONGALINAIDUPALEM VILLAGE, K. KOTAPADU MANDAL, ANAKAPALLI DISTRICT.- 531001 ...PETITIONER AND 1. STATE OF ANDHRA PRADESH, REPRESENTED BY ITS PRINCIPAL SECRETARY, PANCHAYAT RAJ DEPARTMENT, SECRETARIAT BUILDINGS, VELAGAPUDI, THULLUR MANDAL, AMARAVATI, GUNTUR DISTRICT. - 522238 2. STATE OF ANDHRA PRADESH, REPRESENTED BY ITS PRINCIPAL SECRETARY FINANCE DEPARTMENT, SECRETARIAT, VELAGAPUDI, AMARAVATI, THULLUR MANDAL, GUNTUR DISTRICT. - 522238 3. THE ENGINEERINCHIEF, PANCHAYAT RAJ, Z.P.COMPOUND, OPPOSITE TO PWD GROUNDS, M.G.ROAD, VIJAYAWADA. - 520002 4. THE DIRECTOR OF WORKS AND ACCOUNT OFFICER, NIDHI BHAVAN, MANGALAGIRI IT PARK, BEHIND APIIC BUILDING, MANGALAGIRI, GUNTUR DISTRICT. - 522503 5. THE DISTRICT COLLECTOR, ANAKAPALLI DISTRICT, ANAKAPALLI. -531001 SRK,J W.P No.14291 of 2026 2 6. SUPERINTENDING ENGINEER, PANCHAYAT RAJ CIRCLE, VISAKHAPATNAM, VISAKHAPATNAM DISTRICT. - 530001 7. EXECUTIVE ENGINEER, PANCHAYAT RAJ (P.R.I) DIVISION, ANAKAPALLI, ANAKAPALLI DISTRICT. -53100 ...RESPONDENT(S): Petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India praying that in the circumstances stated in the affidavit filed therewith, the High Court may be pleased toPleased to issue a Writ, Order, or Direction more particularly one in the nature of WRIT OF MANDAMUS or any other appropriate writ or direction declaring the action of the respondents in withholding the payment of balance of Rs.3,88,698/- even after finalizing the bills, payable to the petitioner in relation to the works under SDFW and DA Grant i.e., Construction of Community Hall at Rongalinaidupalem GP (1825) of K. Kotapadu Mandal, Anakapalli District through Agreement No./2018-19, dated 18-11-2024 for an amount of Rs.3,88,698/- as illegal, arbitrary and violative of Art 14 and 21 of Constitution of India and consequently direct the respondents to consider for payment of amount of Rs.3,88,698/- to the petitioner in respect of execution of above-mentioned work forthwith and pass IA NO: 1 OF 2026 Petition under Section 151 CPC praying that in the circumstances stated in the affidavit filed in support of the petition, the High Court may be pleased Pleased to direct the respondents to consider for payment of amount of Rs.3,88,698/- to the petitioner in respect of execution of works under SDFW & DA Grant i.e., Construction of Community Hall at Rongalinaidupalem GP (1825) of K. Kotapadu Mandal, Anakapalli District through Agreement No./2018-19, dated 18-11-2024 for an amount of Rs.3,88,698/- forthwith pending disposal of the main Writ Petition and pass Counsel for the Petitioner: 1. RAMBABU KOPPINEEDI Counsel for the Respondent(S): 1. GP FOR PANCHAYAT RAJ RURAL DEV 2. GP FOR FINANCE PLANNING SRK,J W.P No.14291 of 2026 3 THE HONOURABLE SRI JUSTICE K SREENIVASA REDDY Writ Petition No:14291 of 2026 The Court made the following Order: This Writ Petition is filed seeking the following relief: “….to issue a Writ, Order, or Direction more particularly one in the nature of WRIT OF MANDAMUS or any other appropriate writ or direction declaring the action of the respondents in withholding the payment of balance of Rs.3,88,698/- even after finalizing the bills, payable to the petitioner in relation to the works under SDFW and DA Grant i.e., Construction of Community Hall at Rongalinaidupalem GP (1825) of K. Kotapadu Mandal, Anakapalli District through Agreement No./2018-19, dated 18-11-2024 for an amount of Rs.3,88,698/- as illegal, arbitrary and violative of Art 14 and 21 of Constitution of India and consequently direct the respondents to consider for payment of amount of Rs.3,88,698/- to the petitioner in respect of execution of above-mentioned work forthwith and pass such other order…” 2. Heard learned counsel for the petitioner and the learned Assistant Government Pleader for Panchayat Raj and Rural Development. 3. The petitioner claims to be a contractor and Chairman Village Level Committee, Rongalinaidupalem Village, K.Kotapadu Mandal, Anakapalli District, who has been executing government contract works for more than ten years. The respondent No.7 entrusted the petitioner with the work of Construction of Community Hall at Rongalinaidupalem Gram Panchayat (1825) under SDFW & DA Grant on a nomination basis, with an estimated cost of Rs.5,00,000/- through an agreement dated 18.11.2024. After receiving the Letter of Acceptance (LoA), the petitioner entered into an agreement and SRK,J W.P No.14291 of 2026 4 completed the work within the stipulated time using his own funds, labour and machinery. The respondent Nos.6 and 7 and other engineers inspected the work, recorded the measurements in the M-Books and finalized the bill valued at Rs.3,88,698/-. Despite completion of the work, preparation of bill and satisfaction of the authorities regarding the quality of work, the respondents have not released the admitted bill amount of Rs.3,88,698/-. The petitioner has repeatedly approached the respondents for payment for over a year and that since he borrowed money to execute the work, he is suffering from financial hardship. Hence, the Writ Petition. 4. It is the grievance of the petitioner that notwithstanding the completion of the work and its measurement by the competent authorities, the amount due towards the executed work has not been paid till date. According to the petitioner, although the work was completed more than four years ago, the respondent authorities have not released the admitted amount payable to him. Aggrieved by the non-payment of the said amount, the petitioner filed the present Writ Petition. 5. Learned Assistant Government Pleader, on written instructions, from the Executive Engineer, PRI Division, Anakapalli-7th respondent, submits that there is no dispute with regard to the execution of the work. According to him, the petitioner is entitled to an amount of Rs.3,95,689/- after statutory deductions such as QC recovery/withheld amount etc., aggregating to Rs.59,030/-, and that when the bill was being uploaded in the NIDHI Module SRK,J W.P No.14291 of 2026 5 software, an error stating “insufficient budget for this DDO and HOA combination” was displayed, and six months’ time is sought for payment of the said amount. The written instructions are placed on record. 6. Having regard to the fact that there is no dispute with regard to the works executed by the petitioner and the amount payable to him, and in view of the submissions of the learned Assistant Government pleader, the respondent authorities are directed to pay a sum of Rs.3,95,689/- (Rupees three lakhs ninety five thousand six hundred and eighty nine only) to the petitioner within a period of four (04) weeks from the date of receipt of a copy of this order. 7. Accordingly, the Writ Petition is disposed of. There shall be no order as to costs. As a sequel thereto, the miscellaneous applications, if any, pending in this Writ Petition, shall stand closed. _____________________________ JUSTICE K. SREENIVASA REDDY Date:22.06.2026 Ksj