Gram Panchayat, Koradi, Thr. Its ... vs Union Of India, Thr. Secretary, ...
2017 Latest Caselaw 2512 Bom

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             IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY
                       NAGPUR BENCH AT NAGPUR

                           WRIT PETITION NO. 2846/2017

      Gram Panchayat, Koradi,
      through its Secretary, Koradi,
      Dist. Nagpur.                                          .....PETITIONER
                         ...V E R S U S...

 1. Union of India, through its Secretary,
    Defence, New Delhi.

 2. Defence Estate Officer,
    Mumbai Circle, Mumbai-440 005.

 3. State of Maharashtra, Department Of
    Urban Development, Mantralaya, Mumbai.

 4. Zilla Parishad, through its
    Chief Executive Officer, Nagpur.

 5. The Collector, Nagpur.

 6. Nagpur Improvement Trust,
    through its Chairman, Nagpur.                            ...RESPONDENTS

 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Mr.Sachin Sambre, Advocate for petitioner.
 Mr.Aurangabadkar, Asstt. Solicitor General of India for respondent no.1
 Mrs.Bharti Dangre, Government Pleader for respondent nos. 3 & 5.
 Mr. Chhabra, Advocate for respondent no.6.
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                                              CORAM:- B. R. GAVAI, J.

DATED :- 12.05.2017 ORAL JUDGMENT

1. Rule. Rule returnable forthwith. Heard finally by consent of

the parties.

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2. The petitioner, which is Gram Panchayat, Koradi has

approached this Court for issuance of an appropriate writ, order or

direction in the nature of mandamus thereby directing the respondent

no.6-Nagpur Improvement Trust, the Nodal Agency to implement the

development plan of Shri Mahalaxmi Jagdamba Temple, Koradi, Tq.

Koradi, Dist. Nagpur.

3. Shri Jagdamba Temple situated at Koradi is standing on the

land of camping ground belonging to the respondent nos.1 and 2.

4. The land comes under the jurisdiction of the petitioner-

Gram Panchayat and as such since 1963, the petitioner was

uninterruptedly auctioning the land after obtaining the permission from

the competent authorities. However, in the year 1993, for the first

time, the respondent no.2 has objected for the same and asked the

petitioner to deposit an amount of Rs.65,000/-. In the year 1999, the

respondent no.5-Additional Collector, after hearing the concerned

parties, passed an order and permitted the Gram Panchayat i.e. the

present petitioner to make arrangement for Navratri festival. Being

aggrieved by the order passed by the Additional Collector so also a

notice issued by the Additional Collector dated 18.09.1999, the

respondent no.2 filed Writ Petition No.3714/1999 before this Court. In

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the said petition, vide order dated 07.06.2001, this petitioner as well as

the respondent no.4 were temporarily injuncted from carrying out any

constructions on the said land. However, during the pendency of this

petition, this Court permitted the petitioner as well as the Zilla Parishad

to make certain provisions for the devotees. Writ Petition

No.3714/1999 came to be finally disposed of by the learned Single

Judge of this Court vide order dated 18.11.2014. This Court recorded

that the State Government would apply for grant of land admeasuring

9.87 HR owned by the respondent nos. 1 and 2 to the State

Government. It has already been decided between the State

Government on one hand and the respondent nos. 1 and 2 on the other

hand that the land admeasuring 9.87 HR owned by the respondent nos.

1 and 2 would be entrusted by the respondent nos. 1 and 2 to the State

Government in lieu of the State Government transferring another piece

of land as per the requirement of the respondent nos. 1 and 2 to them.

It has further been agreed that the said land admeasuring 9.87 HR

would be utilized for providing the facilities to the pilgrims visiting the

temple of the Goddess Jagdamba.

5. It is not in dispute now that the proposal for exchange of the

said land i.e. the land admeasuring 9.87 HR belonging to the

respondent nos.1 and 2 to the State and an appropriate land as per the

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requirement of the Union of India by the State Government to the

Union of India, is pending between the parties. Not only that the State

has offered various proposals to the Union of India by offering the land

admeasuring 50.79 HR at Chicholi and Babulkheda in Nagpur district

itself. However, it appears that the Union of India has not found the

said land to be suitable. Recently, the State Government has proposed

another piece of land admeasuring 38.64 HR at Ahmadnagar.

6. Mr. Aurangabadkar, the learned ASGI fairly concedes that

since the matter with regard to the exchange of land is pending and it is

only a matter of formality, the respondent nos. 1 and 2 are not

objecting to the development of land admeasuring 9.87 HR at Koradi.

7. I find that on account of the bureaucratic hassles in

completing formalities of documentation of exchange of the lands

owned by the Union of India on one hand and the State on the other,

the developmental activities should not come to a standstill. It is not in

dispute that the State Government has already sanctioned a substantial

amount for various developmental activities at Koradi.

8. In that view of the matter, the writ petition is disposed of in

the following terms.

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        (i)            Respondent   nos.   1,   2   on   one   hand   and   the

respondent no.3 on the other hand are directed to sit together and complete all the formalities of exchange of land and documentation thereof within a period of six months from today.

(ii) It is further directed that since in principal it is agreed that the land admeasuring 9.87 HR is to be transferred to the State Government and the developmental activities are to be carried out on the said land for providing facilities to the pilgrims and it is also agreed that the State will compensate the Union of India by providing the alternate land to the Union of India as per its requirement, there should be no impediment in carrying out the developmental activities on all the lands including the lands owned by the State Government, M.S.E.B. and the land admeasuring 9.87 HR owned by the Union of India.

(iii) The Nagpur Improvement Trust, the implementing agency is directed to forthwith start the developmental activities on all the pieces of lands including the land owned by the State Government, MSEB, Gram Panchayat and the aforesaid land owned by the respondent nos. 1 and 2 admeasuring 9.87 HR and complete the same, as early as possible.

Rule is made absolute in the aforesaid terms. No order as to costs.

JUDGE kahale