ABDUL NAZEER, J:

1. Since common question of law and fact are involved in all these cases, they are clubbed together, heard and disposed of by this common order.

2. The petitioners contend that they are occupying different portions of land bearing Sy.No.36A of Unkal Village, Hubli Taluk, Dharwad District. They have put up small sheds/huts on the said land and have been residing in those sheds for the past 30 to 35 years. The Hubli-Dharwad Municipal Corporation (for short the “Corporation”) has assigned corporation number to their huts and it has been collecting taxes from them. The area in question has been declared as a slum area under Section 3 of the Slum Area (Improvement and Clearance) Act, 1956. The petitioners have produced the tax paid receipt issued by the Corporation. The Forest Contractors and Timber Merchants’ Association Limited, Hubli, filed a petition before this Court in Writ Petition No.12420/2006 for a mandamus directing the Corporation to develop the said land reserved for park and to establish fire brigade as per the approved plan bearing No.DEV.ACQ.SR.52 dated 20/12/1970 (for short ‘the Layout Plan’) and to prevent the 3rd parties from encroaching the s