JUDGMENT :

1. The present petition has been filed by the petitioners praying for the following relief:-

“(a) Pass a writ of mandamus thereby directing all the concerned agencies to ensure that the residential character of the colony of South Ex-II and the adjoining areas that have lost their residential nature due to unprecedented unchecked commercial growth is restored,

(b) Pass a writ of mandamus thereby directing the concerned authority to ensure that the illegal parking inside the colony is stopped forthwith,

(c) Pass a writ of mandamus thereby directing the respondent no. 3 to take action on the decision of the monitoring committee thereby denotifying the commercial street D8-D15 and take appropriate action against the illegal commercialization of streets D1-D7 and M1-M10, and

(d) Pass a writ of mandamus thereby directing the Environment Pollution Control Authority (EPCA) to give a comprehensive report on the impact of commercialization and development of Kidwai Nagar on the ring road and residents of colonies along the ring road with full details of environmental impact.

(e) Pass a writ of mandamus thereby directing the EPCA to give detailed survey and furnish report on the illegal commercial activities and also to produce the survey report and all other related facts based on which the illegal commercial activity has been permitted.

(f) Pass a writ of mandamus thereby directing TERI (The Energy and Research Institute) and DPCC (Delhi Pollution Control Committee) to submit report of sound and air pollution in the area. Also the location of testing instruments should be decided in consultation with the Petitioners in writing so that the true and correct reading of the instruments can be ensured.

(g) Pass a writ of mandamus thereby directing the Fire Department and Delhi Traffic Police to give report confirming the free access in case of emergency.

(h) Pass a writ of mandamus thereby directing EPCA/Fire Dept./Delhi Traffic Police to conduct a survey and provide their report/NOC whether NDSE-2 is suitable to access in case of emergency on account of presence of commercial activity.

(i) Pass a writ of mandamus thereby directing MCD/DDA to produce the rights/obligations under category B of House Tax classifications. Also to direct MCD to disclose on affidavit the house tax collected from South Ex residential area and its utilization in the residential area in the past 10 years.

(j) Pass a writ of mandamus thereby directing all the concerned agencies that the green belt within and surrounding the colony is protected and not used for any construction.

(k) Pass a writ of prohibition thereby restraining the re-development of Kidwai Nagar project till the present problems of traffic congestion and parking are not addressed by the respondent authorities.

(l) Pass a writ of mandamus directing ASI to disclose if and as to how it had granted permission of such huge project next to the heritage monument Tomb of Darya Khan.”

2. At the outset, the learned counsel for the petitioners submits that she wishes to confine her prayer only to the issues pertaining to redevelopment of Kidwai Nagar (East) and for the other prayers, the petitioners will be seeking appropriate remedy in accordance with law, if so advised. In fact, it is noticed that right from the filing of the petition, the focus of the petition has been only on the redevelopment of Kidwai Nagar (East). The petition is therefore, confined to this limited challenge, granting leave to agitate the other issues in an appropriate proceedings.

THE PROJECT:

3. Before embarking to adjudicate on the issues involved in the present petition, it is noteworthy to have an overview of the Project of redevelopment of Kidwai Nagar (East).

4. It is stated by the respondent no. 1 that Kidwai Nagar (East) was identified as one of the colonies in the Zonal Development Plan of Zone- D in 1993 with a mission to combat the acute shortage of Government housing, especially in the National Capital Region, and the long waiti