Judgment

S.B. Sinha, J.—Leave granted.

2. In the early eighties the workmen of the cotton mills situated in the town of Bombay went on a strike resulting in closure of 58 textile mills which together occupied lands measuring about 600 acres. Out of the said 58 mills, 25 belonged to the National Textile Corporation and 33 to private parties.

3. In terms of the Maharashtra Regional & Town Planning Act, 1966 the Development Control Rules (DCR), 1967 were framed. The State Government took a policy decision to amend the DCR wherefor suggestions/opinion from the public were invited. In the year 1991, Development Control Regulations, 1991 were framed; Regulation 58 whereof permitted modernization of mills and development of surplus mill lands in the manner specified therein. It also provided for development of mill lands as a part of BIFR approved rehabilitation schemes and also for modernization and shifting thereof.

4. The said Regulation 58 sought to deal with the lands appertaining to cotton textile mill pursuant whereto each of the mill owners could give one of the options out of the ­following:

(i) The mill owners could continue to operate their mills even though it was running into l