Hyderabad:A two-judge panel of the Telangana High Court on Wednesday heard a PIL and directed the state to clarify the inclusion of Scheduled Area villages within the reconstituted Kothagudem municipality. The petitioner contended that several villages, including Laxmidevipalli, Mangapetta, and Narsimhasagaram, which were designated as Scheduled Areas under a notification by the erstwhile government, have been included in the amended notification issued on April 15, 2025. It was argued that if the villages fall within the reconstituted municipal limits, such inclusion would be legally impermissible and would violate statutory protections, specifically the Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act (PESA) and the Forest Rights Act. The panel required the additional advocate general to clarify whether the specific villages notified as Scheduled Areas in 1950 actually form part of the territorial limits of the reconstituted Kothagudem municipality. Justice Sujana noted that the assumption of the trial court that any decree passed by a Civil Court in such matters would be null and void was contrary to settled legal position.