JUDGMENT

CHANDRACHUD, CJI.:— By these two writ. petitions, the petitioners ask for a writ of mandamus restraining the respondents front evicting the slum dwellers and pavement dwellers in the city of Madras, without providing alternative accommodation to them. They also pray that the respondents should provide basic amenities like water, drainage and electricity to the slum dwellers.

2. The State of Tamil Nadu enacted the Tamil Nadu Slum Areas (Improvement and Clearance) Act, 1971 in order to eradicate slums which are likely to become a source of danger to public health or sanitation. It is alleged by the petitioners that, acting in pursuance of the provisions of the said Act, about 450 huts situated on the. Canal Bank Road adjoining the Loyola College were demolished on November 17, 1981. On the following day, the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu made a statement that the Government had decided, to demolish slums which had come into existence after June, 1977. On November 19,1981 the Chairman of the Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Board made a statement that alternative accommodation had been provided to persons who were evicted from the slums situated on the Canal Bank Road.

3. The Tamil Nadu Land Encroachment Act,, 1905 provides by S. 2 that all public roads, streets, lanes, paths, etc., are the property of the State Government. The Madras City Municipal (Corporation) Act, 1919 contains provisions in Ss. 220, 222 regarding encroachments on public streets. The Tamil Nadu Slum Areas (Improvement and Clearance) Act, 1971 was passed in order to make provision for the improvement and clearance of slums in the State. Section 3 of that Act contains provisions for the declaration of. an area as a slum area if, inter alia, such area is or may be a source of danger to the health or safety of the public by reason of the area being low-lying, insanitary, squalid or over-crowded. Section 5 of that Act empowers the prescribed authority to direct that no person shall erect any building in a slum area without its previous permission in writing. Chapter IV of the Act contains various provisions for improvement of slum areas. Section 11 (a) provides that if the Government is satisfied that the most satisfactory method of dealing with the conditions in a slum area is the clearance of such area and demolition of all the buildings therein, it may by a notification declare the area to be a slum clearance area, that is to say, an area to be cleared of all buildings in accordance with the provisions of the Act. The proviso to that section, which is important, requires that before issuing such notification, the Government shall call upon the owners of lands and buildings in such slum area, to show cause why such a declaration should not be made and that, after considering the cause, if any is shown by such owners, the Government may pass such orders as it may deem fit. Section 29 of the Act provides that notwithstanding anything contained in any other law for the time being in force, no person shall, except with the previous permission in writing of the prescribed authority, institute any suit or proceeding for obtaining a decree or order of eviction of an occupant of any budding or land in a slum area, or execute such decree or order if it is already obtained. Chapter VIII of the Act deals with the constitution of the Slum Clearance Board and its powers. Lastly, the Tamil Nadu Town and Country Planning Act, 1971 contains provisions for the constitution of regional planning authorities, local planning authorities and the new town development authorities. Under Section 17 of that Act, the local planning authority is under an obligation to prepare a master plan for the local planning area providing, inter alia, for the manner in which the land in the planning area shall be used.

4. The Report prepared by Shri Badrinath, the Collector of Madras, which is called the Urban Development of Greater Madras Report, shows that 43 per cent of the population of Madras lives