The expiration of a lease does not justify the arbitrary eviction of occupants from property designated for public recreational use, recognizing residents' statutory rights in housing schemes.

JUDGMENT :

P.M. MANOJ, J.

1. The writ petition is preferred by the Mavelipuram Residents Association being aggrieved by Exts.P6, P8 and P10 orders, seeking for a direction to quash the same and further seeking for a direction to the respondents not to interfere with the possession and enjoyment of the recreation hall established by the petitioner in the children’s park area earmarked in Ext.P2. The petitioner also seeks for a direction to consider and pass appropriate orders on Ext.P11 representation in the light of Ext.P2 layout and Ext.P12 judgment of this Court in Philip George C. v. State of Kerala and Others, 2014 (2) KLT 116.

2. The petitioner is an Association of the residents of the project mooted by the erstwhile Cochin Town Planning Trust. The Cochin Town Planning Trust issued Ext.P1 public notice inviting the bonafide purchasers by the following offering:

• House plots for sale near the sites for Civil Station, High Court & Govt. Press at Pattupurakkal, Thrikkakara, the future headquarters of Ernakulam District and the focus of the Thrikkakara-Kalamassery Township Development.

• Within 3 miles from the city and abutting proposed 100 ft. wide Irimpanam-kalamassery road.

• Attractive building sites in a completely planned development area with water and electric supplies, schools, shopping centres, parks & open spaces etc.

• An ideal place for healthy & comfortable living.

• Low prices at (Rs.750/- to 800/- per cent) with easy instalment facilities for payment.

• Applications with earnest money deposit of Rs.500/- to be received from 01.02.73 to 15.02.73.

3. Ext.P1 was published by the erstwhile Town Planning Trust along with a Town Planning Scheme, as evident from Ext.P1(a). In Ext.P1(a) Town Planning Scheme, it is stated that the scheme envisages the development of 70 hectares (173 acres) of land for residential use, with 20 hectares (49.5 acres) allotted for common amenities such as schools, hospitals, shopping centres, parks, open spaces, and recreation centres, so as to make the area a self-contained unit.

4. Later, the Town Planning Scheme for the Pattupurakal area was replaced with the Mavelipuram Housing Scheme. Therein also, the open spaces and children’s play areas were meant for common purposes, and the cost for maintaining the public utility spaces shown in Ext.P2, including places for public roads, internal roads, etc., was collected from the petitioner on the basis of the public utility avenues proposed in Ext.P2.

5. The members of the petitioner Association purchased their respective plots and constructed their residential buildings. Thereafter, on finding the need for a recreation hall or a place for common/public utility purposes, the Executive Committee of the petitioner Association decided to raise funds for the construction of a common utility building-cum-recreational hall. Accordingly, they approached the Ministry of Human Resource Development under the Department of Culture of the Government of India.

6. On finding that, for the purpose of availing subsidy/grant from the Government, it was necessary to produce certain documents pertaining to the ownership of the property where the recreation hall was proposed to be constructed, Ext.P3 lease deed was executed for constructing the hall in a portion of the open space in the Mavelipuram Housing