A.M. KHANWILKAR, J.

1. By this common judgment we propose to dispose of the above four writ petitions, since the issues raised in all these petitions are overlapping.

2. Insofar as the Writ Petition No. 785 of 2008 is concerned, the same is filed by the Promoters and Builders Association of Pune. The said association is a duly registered association/ trust under the Societies Registration Act, 1860 and Bombay Public Trust Act, 1950. By this petition, the association is espousing the cause of its members, who have received notices from the Respondents demanding payment of royalty and penalty on the ground that they had carried out excavation for the purpose of laying foundation of the building without lawful authority. The said notice-cum-demand has been issued to the respective members purportedly in exercise of powers under Section 48 of the Maharashtra Land Revenue Code, 1966 (hereinafter referred to as “the Revenue Code” for the sake of brevity). According to the members of the Petitioner/ Association, they had commenced the work only after getting permissions from the appropriate authority for construction of the proposed building. The work of excavation of land for