Back
2020 Supreme(P&H) 612
IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH
JASWANT SINGH, SANT PARKASH, JJ.
M/s Krishna Industries – Petitioner
Versus
State of Haryana and Others – Respondents
C.W.P. No. 29604 of 2017
Decided On : 28-05-2020
Advocate Appeared:
For the Petitioner: Mr. Kanwal Goyal.
Mr. Samarth Sagar.
For the Respondents: Ms. Amrita Nagpal, Mr. Lokesh Sinhal.
Headnote:
The Court held that the Municipal Corporation/Director General Urban Local Bodies Haryana under the aegis of Haryana Municipal Corporation Act 1994 have the power and authority to grant the change of land use in respect of the sites in the Licensed Colonies developed under the 1975 Act/approved under the 1963 Act and stand transferred to Municipal Corporation. The Court further held that the Municipal Corporation/Director General Urban Local Bodies Haryana have the role, function and power to administer the ‘controlled areas’ declared under the 1963 Act and over period of time are included within the municipal limits of the Municipal Corporation. The Court also held that the petitioner is entitled to the permission of change of land use of the ‘Community Hall’ to ‘industrial use’ in the peculiar facts of the present case and the reasoning of the impugned order in denying the permission of change of land use cannot be sustained in the eyes of law.
Fact of the Case:
The Petitioner is the owner of Plot No. 68/1 DLF-1, Industrial Area, Sector 31 Faridabad (Haryana), which is surrounded by Industries on all sides. The Site Plan of the entire Industrial Area was admittedly sanctioned on vide Drawing No. 11.09.1973 (referred to in P-16 Pg 93), whereby the property in question was earmarked as Community Hall. Vide a registered conveyance deed bearing Vasika No. 5473 dated 29.06.2006 (P-1), the site in question measuring about 1 acre with covered area of 2750 sq. ft. was purchased by petitioner and as per the conditions of conveyance, the property was required to be put to use as a Community Hall. The revised building plan of the above said plot was approved by Architect of DTP vide office Memo No. 5882 dated 16.09.2008. Uptill 2014, the property was put to use as a Community Hall by petitioner, but without generating income from the said site as there was no utility of the said Community Hall in the entire area developed as Industrial Area.
Finding of the Court:
The Court held that the Municipal Corporation/Director General Urban Local Bodies Haryana under the aegis of Haryana Municipal Corporation Act 1994 have the power and authority to grant the change of land use in respect of the sites in the Licensed Colonies developed under the 1975 Act/approved under the 1963 Act and stand transferred to Municipal Corporation. The Court further held that the Municipal Corporation/Director General Urban Local Bodies Haryana have the role, function and power to administer the ‘controlled areas’ declared under the 1963 Act and over period of time are included within the municipal limits of the Municipal Corporation. The Court also held that the petitioner is entitled to the permission of change of land use of the ‘Community Hall’ to ‘industrial use’ in the peculiar facts of the present case and the reasoning of the impugned order in denying the permission of change of land use cannot be sustained in the eyes of law.
Issues: Whether the Municipal Corporation/Director General Urban Local Bodies Haryana under the aegis of Haryana Municipal Corporation Act 1994 have the power and authority to grant the change of land use in respect of the sites in the Licensed Colonies developed under the 1975 Act/approved under the 1963 Act and stand transferred to Municipal Corporation? Whether the Municipal Corporation/Director General Urban Local Bodies Haryana have the role, function and power to administer the ‘controlled areas’ declared under the 1963 Act and over period of time are included within the municipal limits of the Municipal Corporation? Whether the petitioner is entitled to the permission of change of land use of the ‘Community Hall’ to ‘industrial use’ in the peculiar facts of the present case and the reasoning of the impugned order in denying the permission of change of land use can be sustained in the eyes of law?
Ratio Decidendi: The Court held that the Municipal Corporation/Director General Urban Local Bodies Haryana under the aegis of Haryana Municipal Corporation Act 1994 have the power and authority to grant the change of land use in respect of the sites in the Licensed Colonies developed under the 1975 Act/approved under the 1963 Act and stand transferred to Municipal Corporation. The Court further held that the Municipal Corporation/Director General Urban Local Bodies Haryana have the role, function and power to administer the ‘controlled areas’ declared under the 1963 Act and over period of time are included within the municipal limits of the Municipal Corporation. The Court also held that the petitioner is entitled to the permission of change of land use of the ‘Community Hall’ to ‘industrial use’ in the peculiar facts of the present case and the reasoning of the impugned order in denying the permission of change of land use cannot be sustained in the eyes of law.
Final Decision: The Court allowed the petition and set aside the impugned orders passed by the authorities. The Court directed the respondents to complete the remaining formalities, if any, qua issuance of change of land use/conversion of Building Certificate, as envisaged under the Statute/Rules, within a period of four months from the receipt of the certified order of the copy of the instant judgment, on acceptance of usual fees charged by them after adjusting the fee, if any already paid.
JUDGMENT :
JASWANT SINGH, J.
1. The Petitioner-M/s Krishna Industries, a Proprietorship Firm through its Proprietor cum Owner Smt. Krishna Garg has filed the instant writ petition, being aggrieved against the impugned orders dated 18.11.2017 (P-13), 14.12.2017 (P-16) and order dated 07.08.2018 (P-16/B), whereby the application (P-12) of petitioner for change of land use of Plot No. 68/1 DLF-1 has been rejected and further, Respondents Nos. 2 and 3 (Municipal Corporation, Faridabad) have ordered removal of construction made on the site, being illegal.
FACTS:
2. Admitted facts of the case, relevant for adjudication of the dispute involved in the instant case are that the Petitioner is the owner of Plot No. 681/1, Industrial Area, DLF-1, Faridabad (Haryana), which is surrounded by Industries on all sides. The Site Plan of the entire Industrial Area was admittedly sanctioned on vide Drawing No. 11.09.1973 (referred to in P-16 Pg 93), whereby the property in question was earmarked as Community Hall. Vide a registered conveyance deed bearing Vasika No. 5473 dated 29.06.2006 (P-1), the site in question measuring about 1 acre with covered area of 2750 sq. ft. was purchased by petitioner and as per the conditions of conveyance, the property was required to be put to use as a Community Hall. The revised building plan of the above said plot was approved by Architect of DTP vide office Memo No. 5882 dated 16.09.2008. Uptill 2014, the property was put to use as a Community Hall by petitioner, but without generating income from the said site as there was no utility of the said Community Hall in the entire area developed as Industrial Area.
3. The case of the petitioner is that the Site in question was not put to the use as a Community Hall and over a period of time had outlived the usage as a Community Hall, The Petitioner, applied for and was granted no objection for the usage of the Plot as an industrial unit from DLF Industries Association on 25.04.2012 and same was re-iterated on 18.07.2017 (P-2 Colly). It was mentioned in the no objection letter that the Plot in question has never been used for the purpose earmarked in the approved layout Plan which is admittedly of the year 1973. The Petitioner applied for sanctioning of revised Building Plans and pursuant to the construction based on the revised building Plans, the Occupation Certificate was granted to the Petitioner by the Senior Town Planner cum Chairman Building Committee, Faridabad, on 31.10.2014 (P-3). The petitioner applied for the allotment of the Plot Number to the Industrial Plot of the Petitioner in the Office of the Joint Commissioner Faridabad Municipal Commissioner vide letter dated 30.09.2014 and according the nomenclature/numbering as Plot No. 68/1 to the Industrial Unit of the petitioner was granted on 12.11.2014 (P-4) for the purpose of House Tax, Fire Tax, Water Tax and Sewer Tax etc. The Plot in question is charged with the Commercial House Tax from the Municipal Corporation Faridabad. The Petitioner was also granted a License under Section 330 of the Haryana Municipal Corporation Act 1994 (hereinafter referred to as “1994 Act”) and the letter dated 15.12.2016 (P-5) was issued by the Zonal and Taxation Officer Municipal Corporation Faridabad that the unit if has been given License under Section 330 till the year 2016-17 and is charged House Tax as per industrial Unit. In December 2015 (P-6), the tenants of the Petitioner-M/s Jiva Designs Pvt. Ltd was also issued the Registration and License to work as a ‘Factory’ under the Factories Act 1948 by Chief Inspector of Factories, Haryana. M/s Jiva Design Pvt. Ltd. was also issued the “Exemption from Getting NOC/Consent to operate from the Board’ vide the letter dated 26.03.2015 (P-7) by the Regional Office Faridabad, Haryana State Pollution Control Board. Furthermore, the Haryana State Pollution Control Board Haryana also granted the “consent to operate” to M/s Jiva Designs Pvt. Ltd. the tenant of the Petitioner by the letter
