An owner adversely affected by the modification of a Preliminary Town Planning Scheme by the State Government is entitled to a fair hearing and opportunity to be heard before the final notification is issued.

ORAL ORDER

1. The grievance raised by the petitioners is against Notification dated 01st October, 2025 issued by the State in sanctioning preliminary Town Planning Scheme No.4 (Kudasan-Dholakuva).

2. The prime grievance of the petitioner is with regard to deduction qua the contribution of land. It is the case of the petitioners that the State authorities, while modifying the proposed Scheme under Section 65 , have altered the contribution of the petitioners towards the deduction of land more than what was proposed under the award passed by the Town Planning Officer under Section 52 .

2.1 To substantiate the aforesaid, Learned Advocate for the petitioners has placed reliance on the decision of the coordinate Bench of this Court in case of Kishanbhai Hargovandas Patel v. State of Gujarat reported in 2010(0) AIJEL-HC 223273, of which relevant para-15 is quoted hereunder.

“15. Thus, considering the aforesaid Scheme of the Act while preparing the Draft Town Planning Scheme; sanction it by the State; preparing the Preliminary Town Planning Scheme and sending it to the State Government for its sanction, the persons affected by such Scheme, are required to be served with the notices in Form-F, Form-G. Form-H, Form-I, Form-J and Form-K and at every stage of Draft Scheme as well as Preliminary Scheme, objections and suggestions are invited in the prescribed form the affected persons likely to be affected by such Scheme. Thus, if at the stage of Draft Scheme while preparing the Redistribution and Valuation Statement in Form-F, if a land owner/person is proposed to be allotted a particular Final Plot, his objections and suggestions are invited. After the Draft Town Planning Scheme is sanctioned by the State Government, the Town Planning Officer is required to publish a notice in Form-H in the official gazette and in one or more Gujarati newspaper circulating within the area of the appropriate authority specifying the matters which are proposed to be decided by him and state that all the persons who are interested in the plots or are affected by any of such matters specified in the notice shall communicate in writing their objections to the Town Planning Officer within a period of 20 days from the publication of notice in the official gazette and before even making and/or preparing Preliminary Town Planning Scheme, the Town Planning Officer is required to give every person interested in any land affected by any of the particular, sufficient opportunity of stating their views and the Town Planning Officer shall not give give any decision till he has duly considered their representation, if any. Therefore, if after the Draft Town Planning Scheme is sanctioned by the State Government a particular person/land owner is proposed to be allotted Final Plot “A”, such person/land owner has a right to submit his objections and suggestions against the proposed allotment of said Final Plot and the Town Planning Officer is required to consider the same at the time of making or preparing Preliminary Town Planning Scheme and if during such proceedings it appears to the Town Planning Officer that there are conflicting claim or any difference of opinion with regard to any part of the scheme, the Town Planning Officer is required to record a brief minutes setting out the points at issue and the necessary particulars, and is required to give a decision with the reasons and all such minutes is required to be appended to the Scheme. The Town Planning Officer is required to record and enter in the scheme every decision given by him and is required to send all objections and suggestions received by him, if any, along with the Preliminary Town Planning Scheme prepared by him and sent it to the State Government for its sanction. As stated above, even after the Preliminary Town P