‘Transport Nagar land’ HC directs NMRDA to take complete action : Sanjay Patil

Sanjay Patil  : Nagpur : Justice R K Deshpande and Justice Amit B Borkar at the High Court here have directed the Nagpur Metropolitan Region Development Authority (NMRDA) to continue with the process of action against unauthorised development on proposed ‘Transport Nagar’ and take the same to its logical end within 8 weeks in accordance with law. The court took cognisance of the fact that since March 4, 2017, the 100 acres out of 383.14 acres of land for proposed ‘Transport Nagar’ in possession of, and owned by, Maa Umiya Audyogik Sahakari Vasahat Maryadit, fell within the jurisdiction of NMRDA. Already, NMRDA has issued notices under Section 53 of Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning (MRTP) Act to 105 occupants in the area.

The court disposed of the PIL filed by social activist Anil M Wadpalliwar with this direction to NMRDA, stating that except this direction, it did not find that ‘any other further order’ could be passed in this petition. The direction by the High Court related to the prayer made in the petition for direction to the respondents to remove or demolish unauthorised develpoment made by the respondent-society without obtaining appropriate permission. In this context, the court noted that Nagpur Improvement Trust (NIT) had already made a police complaint for registration of offences. District Collector-Nagpur informed the court that on October 23, 1997, NIT had passed a resolution for establishing Transport Plaza and Industrial Estate and an advertisement was published inviting offers.

The respondent-society was one of those who made the offer of the land in question for establishing the said plaza. NIT had granted approval. The society was requested to change the user of the land from agriculture to industrial and transportaion. According to the court, the main complaint in the PIL was that the respondent-society practiced a fraud in getting the sale deeds executed from various agriculturists by representing to them that their lands were required for the project of NIT and thus induced them to sell the land to it, though no such project was established. The court stated that it was not possible for it to entertain the dispute in respect of registered sale deeds said to have been executed by various agriculturists in favour of the said society in collusion with NIT.

The court indicated that it left this question to be agitated by the person concerned in the appropriate proceedings and for the purpose of this PIL, “we consider the Society to be the owner of the Property”. According to NIT, though willingness was shown to have an agreement with NIT, in respect of construction of Transport Nagar, the society never took any step to get the agreement executed and at no point of time any agreement was entered into between NIT and the society for this project. The High Court pointed out that in view of rejection of petitions against reservation of land in the Develpment Plan for Transport Plaza by the High Court and the Supreme Court in the past again and again, it was, therefore, not possible for the court to reopen the issue of legality or otherwise of the reservation marked as ‘Modification M-5’ in the Development Plan under the notification brought into force with effect from July 15, 2000. Adv S P Bhandarkar appeared for the petitioner. Additional GP S M Uke (State), Advocates R O Chhabra (NIT and NMRDA), and Uday Dastane and M U Dastane (Society) represented the respondents.