NARESH H. PATIL, J.

( 1 ) LEARNED Counsel Shri. Barlinge, for the petitioner seeks to delete respondents Nos. 3 and 4.

( 2 ) LEAVE granted. Necessary amendments in the cause title be made forthwith.

( 3 ) RULE, made returnable forthwith. By consent of the parties, the matter is taken up for final hearing.

( 4 ) BY this petition the petitioner prays for directions to the respondents to allow the petitioner to develop the land admeasuring 40 R from Survey No. 275 situated at kinwat, Taluka Kinwat, District Nanded and for a declaration that the reservation in respect of the subject land kept under the Maharashtra Regional and Town planning Act, 1966 by respondent No. 3 - Municipal Council Kinwat has lapsed.

( 5 ) IN short, the petitioner's contention is that he is owner of land Survey No. 275 admeasuring 1 Hectare 9 R. Out of this land about 69 R land was acquired by the Government and the possession was taken over on 26-5-1990. The petitioner possesses 40 r of land out of Survey No. 275. The town planing authority reserved the said portion of 40 R in the development plan which came into force on 3-6-1976. The subject land was reserved for Telephone Exchange in the development plan. The petitioner requested the authorities to allow him to develop his land and release the said area from the reservation. The petitioner contends that number of representations were filed by the petitioner with the authorities from 1996 onwards, copies of which are annexed collectively to this petition.

( 6 ) THE petitioner ultimately issued notice dated 16-2-2000 under section 127 of the maharashtra Regional and Town Planning act 1966 (for short, "the Act") to all the concerned respondents. A notice was separately issued on 29-2-2000 to the Sub Divisional engineer, Telephones, Nanded which was served on the said authority. Copies of the notices are annexed to the petition.

( 7 ) THE Municipal Council vide its letter dated 30-8-2001 informed the petitioner that the proposal for development of the land could not be accepted. The contention of the petitioner is that the petitioner had given notice under section 127 of the Act and as the Planning Authority failed to take appropriate steps in time the reservation shall be held to have been lapsed.

( 8 ) RESPONDENT - State filed affidavit-in-reply through the Deputy Director of Town planning Aurangabad Division Aurangabad. The deponent stated that the sanctioned development plan came into force with effect from 8-6-1976. The appropriate authority under section 2 (3) of the Act for acquiring and developing the land under reservation is the Post and Telegraph Department. The municipal Council Kinwat being the Planning authority declared its intention to revise the final development plan of Kinwat town under section 23 read with section 38 of the act in furtherance of a resolution passed by the general body on 14-5-1990. A notice to that affect was published in the Government gazette dated 6-9-1990. A draft revised development plan was prepared by the Municipal Council in accordance with title provisions of section 26 of the Act which appeared in the Government Gazette dated 9-5-1996. It is contended that the petitioner's land was reserved for Parking and Library at site Nos. 13 and 14 admeasuring 0. 30 H and 0. 15 H respectively in the draft revised development plan published under section 26 of the Act. The petitioner raised objections to the notice under section 26. The deponent further contends that the petitioner's land continued to be under reservation. The draft development plan was submitted to the Government under section 30 of the Act under letter dated 6-5-1999. The Government had accorded sanction to part of the draft revised development plan on 27-5-2002 and the remaining unsanctioned part i. e. the modifications proposed to be made by the Government of substantial nature to the draft revised development plan was published by the Government under section 3 of the Act vide Notification dated 27-5-2

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