Case Note & Summary
This common judgment deals with two writ petitions concerning the protection of open spaces in the Juhu Vile Parle Development Scheme (JVPD Scheme) at Juhu, Mumbai. Petitioners, including the Gulmohar Area Societies Welfare Group and Save Open Spaces, sought to prevent the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) and the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) from allowing residential construction on two plots that originally formed part of the mandatory open garden spaces in the sanctioned layout. The first petition (WP 2476/2015) involved Plot No.6/11, admeasuring 2500 sq. yards, while the second petition (WPL 1130/2017) involved Plot No.3/14, admeasuring 1687 sq. yards. Both plots had been shown as garden spaces in the layout sanctioned by the Bombay Municipal Corporation at the inception of the JVPD Scheme around 1950. However, MHADA later submitted a revised layout showing these plots as residential areas. For Plot No.6/11, after encroachment removal, the plot was allotted to a proposed cooperative society (Parasmani Society), then possession given to the Anjuman Trust, leading to earlier writ petitions that were disposed of by consent terms in 2014. A review petition by Save Open Spaces was disposed of with an observation that the issue of whether the plot was an open space or could be developed would be decided by MCGM or MHADA. For Plot No.3/14, MHADA had initially granted a garden license to Petitioner No.1 Society. The Anjuman Trust then sought registration of a cooperative society on that plot; the Chief Officer of Mumbai Housing Board rejected the claim in 2013, but the CEO and Vice President of MHADA allowed the Trust’s appeal and directed the lease of the plot to the Trust by an order dated 21 March 2017. The petitions challenged these actions. The judgment does not record any final decision, as the extract ends at paragraph 11 before the court’s conclusion. The court’s reasoning and directions beyond the narrated facts are not available in the provided text.
Issue of Consideration
Whether Plot No.6/11 and Plot No.3/14, which were originally shown as garden/open spaces in the JVPD Scheme layout, could be converted into residential areas and built upon; and whether the MHADA's order directing lease of Plot No.3/14 to Anjuman Trust was lawful.
