The judgment established the duty of the authorities under the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act and the DDA Act to prevent illegal conversions and unauthorized constructions, emphasizing their powers to discourage, prevent, and stop such activities.

( 1 ) BOTH these writ petitions are filed in public interest. The petitioner in CUP No. 1397/2001 is mr. Joginder Kumar Singla who has filed the petition as a President of D. D. A. Market Traders Association, rohini, Delhi. This association consists of members who purchased the shops at various DDA shopping complexes from DDA in an open auction. These shops are located in different sectors and named as Commercial shopping Complex (CSC) and Local Shopping Centres (LSC ). They are running their shops from their respective commercial sites. He states in the writ petition that these shopping centres have incurred huge investment with the hope to recover these investments in the near future by running their business from their respective allotted sites. However, due to colossal unauthorised constructions whereby the residential plots were converted into commercial complexes by the land mafia and local builders, the investments made by the members of the petitioner association have got stuck up.

( 2 ) THE petition details out the manner in which the residential properties are converted into commercial properties by investing black money and such conversion, in any case, is illegal as against the provisions of Delhi Municipal Corporation Act as well as the DDA Act. It is also in violation of user prescribed in Master Plan, Delhi and Zonal Plan for the zones in question as per which residential properties cannot be put to commercial use. It is also detailed in the petition that due to commercial activity in residential plots/falts on the main and branch roads of rohini, the traffic position has worsened. The occupiers thereto have also encroached upon every inch of footpath and roads are blocked by parking vehicles of the owners of these offenders as well as customers visiting their shops. It is also leading to nuisance in the locality and creating law and order problems. s the petitioner also makes a grievance to the effect that inspite of the fact that the petitioner and his association approached the authorities of Municipal corporation as well as the DDA time and again pointing out the aforesaid illegalities and seeking redressal thereof, these authorities have turned their blind eye towards the menace which is spreading day by day.

( 3 ) CWP No. 4980/2001 is filed by the Delhi Builders and promoters Association raising identical grievance, namely, conversion of residential premises into commercial and unauthorised use thereof. Such illegal and unauthorised use of residential premises, in this writ petition, relates to the properties situated on both sides of the main road (150 ft. wide road), i. e. , road No. 41 leading from wazirpur Bus Terminal to madhuban Chowk, Pitam Pura, New Delhi.

( 4 ) BOTH these writ petitions were accordingly taken up for hearing together because of commanlity of the problem involved.

( 5 ) INTERESTINGLY, in the responses filed by the MCD and the DDA in both the cases, such a misuser is not denied. In CWP No. 1397/2001 the stand of the DDA is that the area in question, namely, Rohini and Pitam pure is denotified and does not fall within the jurisdiction of the DDA. It is the MCD which is the appropriate authority to take action against the encroachments. In so far as misuser of residential plots and flats to commercial use is concerned, it is stated in the affidavit that the DDA has already taken steps and issued show cause notices to the occupants of the premises who are misusing the premises in question. As per the Action Taken Report annexed alongwith the affidavit in respect of these properties show cause notices have been issued and in many cases, prosecutions have also been launched. The DDA has taken same stand in its affidavit filed in CWP no. 4980/2001 giving details of the properties booked for taking action of the nature mentioned above.

( 6 ) AS far as MCD is concerned, although it has not filed separate affidavit in CWP No. 1397/2001, various affidavits are filed by it in CWP No.