HC seeks report on status of illegal constructions in all municipalities
The bench directed the commissioner of municipalities to file an affidavit and also directed the official to submit a report ascertaining from all the municipalities the status of buildings that don’ thave permission from the jurisdictional municipalities.
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The court has kept the matter next for hearing on March 9. (Express Photo) A division bench of the Gujarat High Court on Thursday directed the commissioner of municipalities of the state government to file a report before the court ascertaining the status of illegal constructions in all municipalities.
The court was hearing a public interest litigation seeking the court’s directions to initiate prosecution against all erring builders who have put up illegal construction within the jurisdiction of the Dholka Municipality.
Expressing its concern orally, the bench of Chief Justice Aravind Kumar and Justice AJ Shastri asked the Dholka municipality how it allowed “such a mammoth construction of 140 (illegal) buildings under your own nose”.
Advocate Premal Joshi, appearing for the Dholka Municipality, contended that the chief officer has called for a meeting to take immediate action, and many of the illegal buildings are seeking regularisation. “We have issued them notice that you remove these constructions… But they are making an application for regularisation”.
Government pleader Manisha Lavkumar Shah said that the regularisation of unauthorised constructions come with a lot of restrictions and “it is not as if anybody can put up everything and that gets regularised”.
Addressing the municipality, CJ Kumar orally remarked, “As a municipality what is it that you are doing? Why are you not stopping electricity, water supply?…We are equally concerned about regularisation but we are more concerned as to how it happened under your very nose… Till the filing of this PIL, the municipality did not take any action.”
The bench observed, “…the said area falls under the restricted area prescribed under the Archaeological Survey of India… This construction could not have come up overnight and the very fact that the Dholka municipality has been closing its eyes and showing as though they are deaf, is indicative of the fact that under the very eyes of the Dholka municipality, this illegal construction has been put up.”
The bench directed the commissioner of municipalities to file an affidavit and also directed the official to submit a report ascertaining from all the municipalities the status of buildings that don’ thave permission from the jurisdictional municipalities.
The PIL, filed by one Ketankumar Parmar in January 2022, also sought the court’s direction to the state government to take measures to prevent illegal constructions and take disciplinary action against chief officers of municipalities holding them personally liable for not taking prompt action against erring persons.
The court has kept the matter next for hearing on March 9.
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