Municipalities have a statutory duty to prevent unauthorized constructions under relevant property management statutes.

The Court: The petitioner in the present writ petition is aggrieved by the inaction on the part of the respondent Municipality for not taking any steps for stopping/demolishing the unauthorized construction carried out at premises No. 26, Jawaharlal Nehru Road, Kolkata- 700 087 at the instance of private respondent nos. 15 and 16 in collusion with respondent nos. 11 to

14.

It is the case of the petitioner that the premises in question form part of the Murshidabad Estate and are governed by the provisions of the Murshidabad Estate Management Act . The petitioner further submits that private respondents Nos. 15 and 16 are in occupation of Room No. 5B on the 5th floor and Room No. 27 on the 2nd floor of the said building, respectively. It is alleged that respondents Nos. 15 and 16 are carrying out unauthorized construction without obtaining the requisite permission from the Kolkata Municipal Corporation.

Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that several representations have been made to the respondent Corporation regarding the said unauthorized construction, but no action has been taken till date.

Learned Senior Counsel Mr. Banerjee, appearing for respondent No.

11, submits that the petitioner has no locus standi to file the present writ petition, as the management of the building vests with respondent No. 11.

Learned Senior Counsel Mr. Biswaroop Bhattacharya, appearing on behalf of private respondents Nos. 15 and 16, adopts a similar stand and submits that the petitioner has no locus to maintain the present writ petition as he is no longer a tenant of the premises. It is further submitted that eviction orders have been passed against the petitioner by the competent Civil Court.

Learned counsel for the petitioner, however, disputes these contentions and asserts that he continues to be a lawful tenant of the premises. It is submitted that the eviction order has been challenged before the appropriate forum, and a stay order has been granted in his favour. He contends that he is still residing at the said premises.

Without entering into the merits of the civil dispute between the parties, this Court is of the prima facie view that, if any illegal or unauthorized construction has been undertaken, it is the statutory obligation of the respondent Corporation to ensure that no such construction is allowed to proceed without obtaining the necessary permission from the competent authority.

Learned Counsel for the respondent Corporation Mr. Alak Kr. Ghosh states that necessary action is already on the way and hearing has been granted to the learned Counsel for the private respondent no.15.

He seeks and granted two weeks time to inspect the facts by way of a report in the form of an affidavit, exception to the report, if any, may be filed within a week thereafter.

List the matter after four weeks.