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1996 Supreme(Bom) 90

IN THE HIGH COURT OF BOMBAY
Shah A.P. Moorthy Venkatachala A.S., JJ.
Sirur Municipal Council.... Petitioners.
Versus
State of Maharashtra others.... Respondents.
Writ Petition No. 682 of 1988, decided on 14-2-1996.
Advocates appeared :
B.P. Apte with R.S. Apte, for petitioner.
N.M. Zambre, A.G.P., for respondent No. 1.
R.G. Ketkar, for respondents Nos. 2 3.

Headnote:Section 37-Flnal development plan reserved fee Municipal Industrial State-No proposal for modification of plan-Insurance of no objection certificate to respondents by Administration-Procedure not followed under Section 37-Grant of certificate In haste not benefit Exercise of power-Liable to be struck down.- The final development plan thus contains specific proposal that site 57 is meant for municipal industrial estate for which the municipal council is the (appropriate authority within the meaning of the Act. If this reservation is to be lilted or the industrial municipal estate is to be converted into a private industrial estate to be developed either by a society or any other private individual it will certainly amount to minor modification of the development plan attracting provisions of Section 37. requiring the planning authority to follow the necessary procedure before can sing such modification. It is not disputed that no. such procedure was followed in the present case. Court has indicated that in fact there was no proposal far modification of the plan. What the administrator has done is that he simply issued a no objection certificate to the respondent No. 2 society which has the effect of revocation or cancellation of the reservation of the site as a municipal industrial estate. This clearly amounts to a minor modification of the plan since a site reserved for municipal industrial estate is being converted into a private industrial estate. It is true that the administrator was vested with all the powers of the municipal council but he could not have made such modification in the plan without fallowing the provisions of Section 37 of the Act. Therefore. in Court opinion the grant of no objection certificate and all consequential actions taken in furtherance of the no-abjection certificate are liable to struck down on this short round of non-compliance of Section 37.

JUDGMENT - SHAH A.P., J.:---By this petition under article 226 the municipal council of Sirur seeks to challenge the allotment of the land comprised in reserved site No. 57 in the development plan by the State Government to respondent No. 2 Shri Ramalinga Co-operative Industrial Vasahat, Society.

2. The petitioner municipal council is established as per the provisions of section 8 of the Maharashtra Municipalities Act, 1965. In 1979 the petitioner published a draft development plan for the municipal area of Sirur in accordance with section 33 of the Maharashtra Regional Town Planning Act, 1966 ('the Act', for short). Under the draft plan site No. 57 is reserved for municipal industrial estate. The area of the said site in hectare is 7.94. This site consists of two lands which are revenue survey Nos. 1130 and 47. The draft development plan was submitted to the State Government for its sanction along with report prepared by the town planner. So far as the reservation of site No. 57 as municipal industrial estate is concerned, the report reads as under :

“Sirur town has got excellent communication facilities by road and it would be an ideal place for industrialisation if additional supply of water and power is made available and requisite arrangement for disposal of waste is made properly. The municipal council has already initiated augmentation of water supply scheme which can feed to certain extent industrial water demand. Industrial zone was proposed on Pune-Nagar and along Pabal road in sanctioned Development Plan. It is a Government land. Now that Government has adopted decentralization policy for industry and that Bombay Pune regions have become restricted, small towns such as Sirur can attract the future industries. As such industrial zone of sanctioned Development Plan is being reserved as 'Municipal Industrial Estate'. This would encourage local industrialist as Municipal Council would develop lands. The cement works factory is also started along south-west border of municipal limits. Adjoining area is also now proposed for industrial zone.”

3. On September 27, 1983 the State Government sanctioned the said draft development plan submitted by the petitioner municipal council. As per the sanction granted by the Government, the plan became operative from December 1, 1983. In the meanwhile, on February 5, 1981 the State Government issued a notification dissolving all the municipal councils in the State including municipal council of Sirur. At that time the statutory tenure of Sirur municipal council was already over. After the said notification, the authority, powers and functions of the municipal council vested in the administrator who was appointed by the State Government.

4. On February 4, 1984, the 3rd respondent who was a local M.L.A., made an application to the Chief Officer of the municipal council describing himself as the chief promoter of respondent No. 2 Shri Ramalinga Co-operative Industrial Vasahat, Society for issuing a no objection certificate for allotment of survey No. 1130 which is a reserved site for municipal industrial estate to the respondent No. 2 society. The application made by the respondent No. 3 reads as follows :

“The proposed Ramaling Industrial Co-operative Institute has proceeded for establishing an Industrial Estate on a co-operative principle at Sirur, Ghodnade. The Co-operative Industrial Institute is in need of a land and it is found that S.No. 1130 Sirur has been reserved for Industrial Estate. The said land is intended to be obtained for the proposed institute and therefore no objection certificate is to be taken from your office. Therefore it is prayed that, no objection certificate should be issued.”

5. It appears that on the same day the Chief Officer of the municipal council put up a draft letter before the administrator pointing out to the administrator the position of the land in question and the necessity of taking Government sanction. But it appears that the administrator scored out





























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