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1991 Supreme(AP) 104

Andhra Pradesh High Court
B.Sreenivasulu - Appellant
Versus
Commissioner, Ananthapur Municipality Ananthapur - Respondent
W.P.No. 5665/88 etc.
Decided On : 03-11-91
Advocates Appeared :
Mr. A. Gopal Rao,Mr. G. Chandrasekhara Reddy,Mr. M. Ratna Reddy

Headnote:AP MUNICIPALITIES ACT, Sections 133, 192 and 336 - Unauthorised occupation of Government land since 40 years - Construction of house Payment of Property Tax, inclusion of names in the Voters List, obtaining Water or Electricity supply connections do not confer title on the encrochers - Right to notice before ordering demolition - Only lawful owners of land are entitled to - Not the encroachers - Orders of demolition by the Municipality - legal

( 1 ) IN all these writ petitions a common question arises for resolution and hence they may be disposed of by a common order.

( 2 ) THE Anantapur Municipality, issued a separate notice to each of the petitioners on 21-1-1988 purporting to be under Sections 192, 193 and 336 of the A. P. Municipalities Act, directing the petitioners to vacate the premises which they are occupying within one week from the date of receipt of the said notice on the ground that they have occupied the road margin without any permission from the Municipality and further their unauthorised occupation is causing much inconvenience to the general public.

( 3 ) INTERIM stay of eviction has been granted in all these writ petitions. The 1st respondent Municipality filed the counter. The owner of the land who is having the land by the side of the road margin and who has an approved lay-out even in the year 1981 filed applications in each writ petition to implead himself as the 2nd respondent. Those WPMPs. have been ordered and he has been impleaded as 2nd respondent in each writ petition.

( 4 ) NOW the case of the petitioners is that they have been in occupation of the premises since about 40 years, that their names have been entered in the voters list, that the Municipality has also allotted house numbers and ration cards were also issued to them. Further the State Electricity board and the Water Works Department have provided electricity and water connections to their houses.

( 5 ) THE water and electricity connections will be provided by the respective Departments to the persons whoever apply for the same without going into the title to the property in favour of such applicant. Electricity is being supplied to the road side tea-bunks and other small petty shops. House numbers will be allotted by the Municipality for purpose of collection of tax. But that does not confer title on any person over the said property. Supply of water and power and issue of ration cards will not advance the case of the petitioners so long as their occupation is unauthorised. Admittedly even according to the petitioners, the land in question belongs to the Government. The petitioners must prove that they are having a right to occupy the said premises and their occupation is authorised. Till they obtain such authorisation to occupy the premises in question from the concerned authorities, their occupation must be deemed to be unauthorised and the Municipality is entitled to evict them. Moreover, in the year 1977 one of the owners of the land in S. No. 2659/2 filed an application that he is surrendering the land for the purpose of road widening and subsequently lay-out also has been granted.

( 6 ) THE impugned notices have been given under Sections 192, 193 and 336 of the Andhra Pradesh Municipalities Act, 1965. Section 192 deals with removal of encroachments, Section 193 deals with the power to allow certain projections and erections. Under Clause (6) of Section 193 of the Act, on the expiry of any period for which a licence or lease has been granted under this section, the Commissioner may, without notice, cause any projection or construction put up under sub-section (1) or sub-section (2) to be removed, or cause the occupier to be evicted. According to sub-Section (6) of Sec. 193, even in cases where a permission has been granted for erection on a municipal land after the expiry of the licence period, the Commissioner has got right to order removal even without notice Therefore, even in a case where the appropriate authority granted licence, still after the expiry of the said licence, the projection or construction can be removed without notice or the occupier can be evicted without notice. Therefore, the petitioners cannot contend that the Commissioner of the Municipality has no power to order eviction when he occupied the road margin without any authority either from the Government or from the Municipality.

( 7 ) SECTION 336 of the Act deals with penalties for contravention










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