Calcutta High Court
M/S. Leonine Estates Pvt. Ltd. & Ors vs The Kolkata Municipal Corporation & Ors on 10 August, 2017
Author: Harish Tandon
Bench: Harish Tandon
ORDER SHEET GA NO.2488 OF 2017 WP NO.1032 OF 2016 IN THE HIGH COURT AT CALCUTTA CONSTITUTIONAL WRIT JURISDICTION ORIGINAL SIDE M/S. LEONINE ESTATES PVT. LTD. & ORS.
Vs THE KOLKATA MUNICIPAL CORPORATION & ORS. Before :
The Hon'ble Justice Harish Tandon Date : 10th August, 2017 Appearance :
Mr.Triptimoy Talukder, Adv., for the petitioner.
Mr.Supratim Dhar, Adv., for the State.
Mr.Biswajit Mukherjee, Mr.Debangshu Mondal, Advs., for the KMC.
The Court : It is really unfortunate that the corporation has kept the application for sanction of the building plan in abeyance without taking any decision. The petitioners claim to have purchased a large track of land comprised in Madurdaha Mouza and applied for mutation of their names in the assessment register maintained for the purpose of collection of the property tax. Subsequently, 2 the petitioners also applied for sanction of the building plan for construction of the buildings at the said plot of land. A notice of hearing was served upon the petitioners and the municipal authorities informed the petitioners that they are required to submit no objection certificate from the Urban Land Ceiling Department in terms of Rule 4(4) of the Kolkata Municipal Building Rules, 2009, the mutation certificate issued by the competent authority under Section 50 of the West Bengal Land Reforms Act, 1955 and a permission of conversation of the land issued by the said authority under Section 4(c) of the said Act. The petitioners took a stand that in view of the provisions contained under Rule 4(4) of the said Act of 2009, if the period provided therein expires, the corporation authorities are bound to sanction the building plan. The petitioners further relied upon a judgment of the Division Bench of this Court rendered in M.A.T. No. 134 of 2016 decided on 20th May, 2016 wherein a direction was passed upon the corporation to sanction the building plan without insisting upon the production of the no objection certificate from the Urban Land Ceiling Department or a 3 conversion certificate from a competent authority under the West Bengal Land Reforms Act, 2009.
The bone of contention in the instant writ petition is despite the aforesaid statements being made before the corporation authorities, no decision has been taken as yet and the application filed by the petitioners is still undecided. If the statutory authority is vested with the power to grant sanction of the building plan, the minimal expectation from the said authority is that they should act with promptitude and should not keep the proceeding in suspended animation for all times to come. A date of inspection was fixed and certain requisitions were asked for and if the stand of the person is that those documents are irrelevant, it is a statutory duty of the authority to take a decision thereupon and communicate the same to the petitioners for future course of actions. Keeping the fate of the proceeding undecided and making a person to remain in lurch simply augments the docket of the Court and adding further to its pendency which is mounting by leaps and bounds. The statutory authority should be reminded of their duties entrusted upon them and should take a decision and 4 communicate the same to the parties without any further delay.
This Court, therefore, directs the corporation authorities to proceed with the application filed by the petitioners and fix a date for hearing which should not exceed beyond fifteen days from the date of communication of this order and after affording an opportunity of hearing shall dispose of the said application within three weeks therefrom in accordance with law. It goes without saying that all points taken before the authority shall be dealt with in the final order that may be passed upon the said application.
With these observations, the writ petition and the connected application are, thus, disposed of.
No order as to costs.
[Harish Tandon, J.] sd/