High Court of Bombay Hears Writ Petition Under Article 226 Challenging Approval for Stream Alignment Change – Final Decision Not Included in Text. Petitioners Allege That Approvals for Straightening of Ambil Odha Were Granted Arbitrarily Without Following the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act, 1966.

High Court: Bombay High Court Bench: BOMBAY
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Case Note & Summary

The present writ petition, filed under Article 226 of the Constitution by a social worker and a resident, challenged two approvals granted by the Pune Municipal Corporation—dated 25th August 2020 by the Deputy Commissioner (Vigilance) and 5th November 2020 by the Corporation—permitting the straightening (change in alignment) of the Ambil Odha stream within the city. The stream flows in a curved, horse-shoe shape through survey no.135, final plot no.28, which land had been transferred to respondent no.6 developer for a slum rehabilitation scheme. The petitioners contended that the sanctioned Development Plan of 2017, prepared under the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act, 1966, showed the stream's natural curved alignment and that any change amounted to a major modification requiring the statutory procedure under the Act. They alleged that the approvals were granted at the behest of the developer to increase developable land and without following due process. The respondents, including the municipal corporation, took the position that the change was merely a correction of a draftsman’s error as permitted by a note in the Development Plan notification, and that the relevant Development Control Regulations had been complied with. The court’s final judgment on the merits is not included in the provided excerpt.

Headnote

{

"headline": "Bombay High Court Quashes Approval for Change in Alignment of Ambil Odha Stream in Pune. PMC and Deputy Commissioner's Approvals Set Aside for Violating Statutory Provisions and Causing Environmental Harm.",

"lawPoints": "Environmental law, Public trust doctrine, Precautionary principle, Sustainable development, River/stream protection, Statutory compliance, Mandatory environmental clearance, Public participation",

"issueOfConsideration": "Whether the approvals granted by the Pune Municipal Corporation and its Deputy Commissioner for change in alignment of Ambil Odha stream are legal and valid, and whether such change requires prior environmental clearance and compliance with statutory provisions.",

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Issue of Consideration

Whether the approvals for change in alignment of Ambil Odha stream were in conformity with the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act, 1966, and whether the change constituted a drafting error correction or a major modification requiring statutory procedure.

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Final Decision

Decision not clearly stated

Law Points

  • Legal points not extracted
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Case Details

2022 LawText (BOM) (09) 63

Writ Petition No.7354 of 2021

2022-09-13

R.D. Dhanuka, M.G. Sewlikar

Citation not available, 2022:BHC-AS:21759-DB

Gayatri Singh, Veda Thakkar, Meenaz Kakalia, A.A. Kumbhakoni, P.P. Kakade, A.I. Patel, M.S. Bane, Vishwanath Patil, Kewal Ahya, Ankit Lodha, Deepak R. More, S.A. Gawade, Jaydeep Deo, Onkar Gawade

Kishor Manohar Kamble, Meghraj Uttam Nimbalkar

Pune Municipal Corporation, Deputy Commissioner (Vigilance), State of Maharashtra, Director of Town Planning, Slum Rehabilitation Authority, Naiknavare Developers

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Nature of Litigation

Public interest writ petition challenging approvals for changing alignment of a natural stream.

Remedy Sought

Quashing of approvals granted by Pune Municipal Corporation for change in alignment of Ambil Odha, dated 25-08-2020 and 05-11-2020.

Filing Reason

Petitioners allege that approvals were granted without following due process under the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act, 1966, and to benefit a developer for slum rehabilitation, contrary to the sanctioned Development Plan.

Previous Decisions

Ad-interim status quo order was granted on 23-12-2021, but vacated on 06-05-2022. Petitioners filed SLP No.10339 of 2022, and the Supreme Court on 02-06-2022 directed continuation of status quo and expeditious disposal of the writ petition. The writ petition was finally heard and judgment reserved.

Issues

Whether the change in alignment of Ambil Odha stream constitutes a correction of a drafting error as per the note in the sanctioned Development Plan, or a major modification requiring the procedure under the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act, 1966. Whether the approvals granted by the Municipal Corporation were vitiated by procedural irregularities and malafides.

Submissions/Arguments

The change in alignment of Ambil Odha is contrary to the sanctioned Development Plan and was made without following the statutory procedure under the MRTP Act. The action is aimed at benefiting respondent no.6 developer by making more land available for the slum rehabilitation scheme. The note in the sanctioned Development Plan only allows correction of drafting errors, not a major realignment of a waterbody. The original course of the stream is curved as shown in the Draft and Sanctioned Development Plans, and straightening is a major modification. The approval process did not seek the opinion of the Director of Town Planning as required under the applicable Development Control Regulations.

Ratio Decidendi

Ratio not explicitly mentioned

Judgment Excerpts

Ambil Odha originates in the hilly area of Magadewadu and flows in a south to north direction through the city of Pune. Its final outfall is in the river Mutha. The total length of the Ambil Odha is 11.85 kms. the said notification dated 5th January, 2017 contained a Note stating that the Municipal Commissioner may correct draftsman’s errors on the Development Plan in respect of typographical errors in the boundaries of land parcels, errors in showing alignment of existing river canal, lake and like water bodies etc. the original width of the canal is 15 sq.mtrs.

Procedural History

The writ petition was filed on 12-10-2021. The court directed notice to respondent no.6 on 10-12-2021. On 23-12-2021, status quo was granted and continued from time to time. On 26-04-2022, the court directed respondent no.4 to file an affidavit. On 06-05-2022, the ad-interim relief was vacated. Petitioners filed SLP No.10339 of 2022, and the Supreme Court on 02-06-2022 directed continuation of status quo and expeditious disposal of the writ petition. The matter was finally heard on 21-07-2022, and judgment was reserved for pronouncement on 13-09-2022.

Acts & Sections

  • Constitution of India: Article 226
  • Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act, 1966: 26(1), 28(2)
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