JUDGMENT :

Nitin B. Suryawanshi, J.

1. A Division Bench, which was considering writ petitions filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India seeking a declaration that the reservation of the land owned by the petitioners in the Development Plan of the Municipal Council has lapsed and the said land is released from reservation and will be available to the petitioners for development, has referred following question for consideration of Full Bench :

“Whether the High Court can lawfully declare lands reserved for a public purpose, under the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act, 1966 for an inordinate long period of time, free from reservation in absence of a valid notice under Section 127 of the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act, 1966?”

2. Before we proceed to decide the said question, it would be apt to consider relevant provisions of the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act, 1966 (hereinafter for brevity, “the Act”).

“126. (1) Where after the publication of a draft Regional plan, a Development or any other plan or town planning scheme, any land is required or reserved for any of the public purposes specified in any plan or scheme under this Act at any time, the Planning Authority, Development Authority, or as the case may be, any Appropriate Authority may, except as otherwise provided in section 113A acquire the land,—

(a) by agreement by paying an amount agreed to, or

(b) in lieu of any such amount, by granting the land-owner or the lessee, subject, however, to the lessee paying the lessor or depositing with the Planning Authority, Development Authority or Appropriate Authority, as the case may be, for payment to the lessor, an amount equivalent to the value of the lessor’s interest to be determined by any of the said Authorities concerned on the basis of the principles laid down in the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013, Floor Space Index (FSI) or Transferable Development Rights (TDR) against the area of land surrendered free of cost and free from all encumbrances, and also further additional Floor Space Index or Transferable Development Rights against the development or construction of the amenity on the surrendered land at his cost, as the Final Development Control Regulations prepared in this behalf provide, or

(c) by making an application to the State Government for acquiring such land under the provisions of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013,

and the land together with the amenity, if any so developed or constructed so acquired by agreement or by grant of Floor Space Index or additional Floor Space Index or Transferable Development Rights under this sections or under the provisions of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013, as the case may be, shall vest absolutely free from all encumbrances in the Planning Authority, Development Authority, or as the case may be, any Appropriate Authority.

(2) On receipt of such application, if the State Government is satisfied that the land specified in the application is needed for the public purpose therein specified, or if the State Government except in cases falling under section 49 [and except as provided in section 113A itself is of opinion that any land included in any such plan is needed for any public purpose, it may make a declaration to that effect in the Official Gazette, in the manner provided in section 19 of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013, in respect of the said land. The declaration so published shall, notwithstanding anything contained in the said Act, be deemed to be a declaration duly made under the said section:

Provided that, subject to the provisions of sub-section (4), no such declaration shall be made after the expiry of one year from the date of publi