Case Note & Summary
The petitioners, M/s. Mayurpunkh Fine Builders Pvt. Ltd. and others, including a co-operative housing society, filed a writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India before the Bombay High Court. The petitioners were developers under the Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) scheme and sought Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) clearance for a property located at CTS No.30(Part) and 31(Part) of Village Juhu and CTS No.195(Part) of Revenue Village Andheri at Andheri (West), Mumbai. Their application for CRZ clearance had been pending before Respondent Nos. 3 to 5 (Slum Rehabilitation Authority, its CEO, and the Member Secretary of Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority) for a long time without any decision. The respondent authorities defended the delay by stating that the National Coastal Zone Management Authority (NCZMA) was in the process of preparing a new Coastal Zone Management Plan for the Mumbai region and Raigad District. The Court heard the parties and considered judgments cited by the Senior Counsel for the petitioners, including the decisions in Rustomjee Realty Private Limited v. Union of India (Writ Petition No.647 of 2012) and Om Prakash & Company v. Union of India (Writ Petition No.593 of 2013). The Court noted that the same defence had been raised in those cases and rejected. Following the precedent, the Court held that the pendency of a new Coastal Zone Management Plan cannot be a ground to indefinitely delay the decision on the petitioners' application. The Court directed Respondent Nos. 3 to 5 to decide the petitioners' application/representation for CRZ clearance within four weeks from the date of the order, after giving an opportunity of hearing to the petitioners. The writ petition was disposed of accordingly, with no order as to costs.
Headnote
A) Environmental Law - Coastal Regulation Zone Clearance - Pending Application - Direction to Decide - The petitioners, a developer under the Slum Rehabilitation Authority scheme, sought CRZ clearance for their property. The respondent authorities delayed the decision citing preparation of a new Coastal Zone Management Plan. The Court held that the pendency of a new plan cannot indefinitely delay the decision on an application and directed the authorities to decide the application within four weeks, following the precedent in Rustomjee Realty Private Limited and Om Prakash & Company. (Paras 2-5)
Issue of Consideration
Whether the authorities are justified in delaying the decision on the petitioner's CRZ clearance application pending preparation of a new Coastal Zone Management Plan.
Final Decision
The Court directed Respondent Nos. 3 to 5 to decide the petitioners' application/representation for CRZ clearance within four weeks from the date of the order, after giving an opportunity of hearing to the petitioners. The writ petition was disposed of accordingly, with no order as to costs.
Law Points
- CRZ clearance
- pending application
- direction to decide
- slum rehabilitation
- coastal zone management
Case Details
2014 LawText (BOM) (02) 131
WRIT PETITION NO. 2782 OF 2013
Anoop V. Mohta, A.A. Sayed
Mr.S.U.Kamdar, Senior Advocate with Ms. Megha Martins and Mr. Ritesh Javre i/by M/s Purnanand & Co. for the Petitioners, Ms Geeta Shastri, AGP for Respondent Nos. 1 and 2, Mr. Jagdish G. Reddy for Respondent Nos. 3 and 4, Ms. Sharmila Deshmukh for Respondent No. 5, Ms. Trupti Puranik for Respondent No.6, Mr. Parag Vyas for Respondent No.7
M/s. Mayurpunkh Fine Builders Pvt. Ltd., Mahendra Mavji Chheda, Atul Shamji Bharani, New Sangam Co-operative Housing Society Ltd.
State of Maharashtra, Secretary Government of Maharashtra Urban Development Department, Slum Rehabilitation Authority, Chief Executive Officer Slum Rehabilitation Authority, Member Secretary Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority, Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai, Union of India through Ministry of Environment & Forests
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Nature of Litigation
Writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India seeking direction to decide pending CRZ clearance application.
Remedy Sought
Petitioners sought a direction to Respondent Nos. 3 to 5 to decide their pending application/representation for CRZ clearance.
Filing Reason
Non-granting of CRZ clearance on the property despite pending application for long time.
Previous Decisions
The Court referred to its earlier decisions in Rustomjee Realty Private Limited and Om Prakash & Company where similar defence of pending new Coastal Zone Management Plan was rejected.
Issues
Whether the respondent authorities are justified in delaying the decision on the petitioners' CRZ clearance application on the ground that a new Coastal Zone Management Plan is being prepared.
Submissions/Arguments
Petitioners argued that their application for CRZ clearance has been pending for long and the authorities are delaying the decision on the ground that a new Coastal Zone Management Plan is being prepared.
Respondent authorities defended the delay stating that NCZMA is in process of preparing a new Coastal Zone Management Plan for Mumbai region and Raigad District.
Ratio Decidendi
The pendency of preparation of a new Coastal Zone Management Plan cannot be a ground to indefinitely delay the decision on an application for CRZ clearance. Authorities must decide pending applications within a reasonable time.
Judgment Excerpts
The Petitioners' (a developer under the SRA scheme) grievance is about non-granting them of Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) clearance on the property...
This Court has decided the issue in following words: 'The respondents have not disputed the correctness of the aforesaid map. Only defence of the respondents is the defence which was raised in Writ Petition No.647 of 2012...'
Procedural History
The petitioners filed Writ Petition No. 2782 of 2013 before the Bombay High Court seeking direction to decide their pending CRZ clearance application. The Court heard the parties and disposed of the petition on 25 February 2014.
Acts & Sections
- Constitution of India: Article 226
- Maharashtra Slum Areas (Improvement, Clearance and Redevelopment) Act, 1971:
- Environment Protection Act, 1986:
