JUDGMENT :

Z.A. HAQ, J.

1. Heard.

2. Rule. Rule made returnable forthwith.

3. By this Public Interest Litigation (PIL), the petitioners have challenged the allotment of Government land, admeasuring 3-H and 5-R to respondent No. 4 Sanstha under Rules 6 and 7 of the Maharashtra Land Revenue (Disposal of Government Land) Rules, 1971.

4. We are not required to deal with the issue of locus of the petitioners, as the PIL is being heard by this Court since 2012.

5. Though various submissions are made by the Advocates and the learned AGP representing the parties, we are of the view that the petition can be disposed of accepting the submissions made by the learned advocate for the petitioners relying on Rules 6 and 7 of Maharashtra Land Revenue (Disposal of Government Land) Rules, 1971 (herein after referred as ‘the Rules of 1971’).

6. Rules 6(1) and 7(1) of the Rules of 1971 read as follows:-

“6. Power of collector to make revenue-free grants:-

(1) Subject to the provision of this rule, land may be given by the Collector free of occupancy price and free of revenue, whether in perpetuity or for a term, for the purpose specified in column 1 of the Table below from which benefit is expected, upto the limits specified in column 2 thereof.

Provided that land which in the opinion of Collector is in the neighborhood of a railway station shall not be granted for dharamshalas under clause (b) in the table unless when erected they are to be in the charge of such Municipal Corporation, Municipal Council, Zilla Parishad or Village Panchayat:

Provided further that, land shall not be granted under this rule for any purpose mentioned in Rule 7.”

7. Grant of land for play-grounds, gymnasiums, etc.

(1) Land may be leased at a nominal rent of one rupee (Re. 1) a year for play-grounds or other recreational purposes to educational institutions or local authorities or for gymnasiums recognised by Government for a term not exceeding (thirty years) by the Collector, when the revenue-free value of the land does not exceed Rs. 2,50,000 and with the sanction of the Commissioner, when the revenue-free value of the land exceeds Rs. 2,50,000 but does not exceed Rs. 7,50,000.”

7. The learned advocate for the petitioners submitted that the Government land can be given free of occupancy price and free of revenue by the Collector for the purposes specified in column No. 1 of table below the Rule 06 of the Rules of 1971, after ascertaining that no benefit is expected from that Government land above the limit specified in column No. 2 of the table below that Rule.

8. Admittedly, in the present case, the Government land is given to respondent No. 4-Sanstha for running a school and for playground. It being so, before issuing the order granting the land in question to respondent No. 4-Sanstha, it was obligatory on the part of respondent No. 3-Collector to ascertain whether benefit above Rs. 5 lakh was not expected from that land. Table below Rule 6 of the Rules of 1971 lays down that in case the benefit from the land in question is more than Rs. 5 lakhs, then the Collector has to seek sanction of the Commissioner and in such case, the Commissioner has to ascertain whether the benefit from the land in question is not expected above Rs. 12,50,000.

The figures 5,00,000 and 12,50,000 are substituted in the table below Rule 6 of the Rules of 1971 by notification dated 19.5.2015 for the figures 2,50,000 and 6,25,000.

Similarly, when the grant is under rule 7(1) of the Rules of 1971, if the Government land is given on lease for play ground or other recreational purposes to the educational institution or local authorities or for gymnasium recognized by the Government, then before granting the lease, the Collector has to ascertain that the value of the revenue free land does not exceed Rs. 2,50,000 and if the value of the land in question exceeds Rs. 2,50,000 then the Collector has to seek sanction of the Commissioner and in such case, the Commissioner has to ascertain whether revenue free value o