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Therefore the provision of residential plots in Kant Enclave is permissible.” [Emphasis supplied by us].

33. It will be noticed that the Director, Town & Country Planning Department did not make any reference to the notification dated 18th August, 1992 issued under the provisions of the PLP Act. This sequence of events clearly indicates that the Town & Country Planning Department was very much in favour of the applicant colonizing its land and making constructions therein on the basis of select administrative orders. It was quite prepared to, and did, ignore orders passed by this Court from time to time and also ignore the notification of 18th August, 1992 issued under the provisions of the PLP Act. The understanding of the Town & Country Planning Department seems to be that issues of environmental degradation, pollution and groundwater were not its concern. To say the least, the Town & Country Planning Department was myopic and brazen in pushing its agenda - certainly vis-à-vis the applicant versus the environment and in disregard of a statutory notification.

38. Notwithstanding the affidavit, the Director in the Town & Country Planning Department issued a communication dated 16th March, 1999 to the effect that the provision of residential plots in Kant Enclave was permissible. In view of the affidavit of Shri S.K. Maheshwari, there is enough room to suspect the bona fides of the applicant and the Town & Country Planning Department, but we leave it at that.

Further set of orders passed by this Court

39. In the writ petition filed by M.C. Mehta an application was filed by the Delhi Ridge Management Board on 5th December, 2001 (being IA No. 1785 of 2001) to the effect that large-scale mining activity near the Delhi- Haryana border was resulting in a large quantity of ground water being pumped out from mining pits. As far as Delhi is concerned, the mining and extraction of groundwater had been banned and the Ridge in Delhi was being protected in terms of the orders passed by this Court from time to time. However, it was stated in the application that the Ridge in Haryana also needed to be protected as this was an extension of the same range. It was submitted that mining, withdrawal of groundwater and destruction of flora etc. should also be restricted outside Delhi or at least up to 5 km from the Delhi-Haryana border towards Haryana. The significance of this application is that it jogs the memory and recalls the order passed by the Chief Minister of Haryana on 11th July, 1990 relating to the availability of potable drinking water and the span of availability of water from the aquifers and their application.

42. EPCA did visit the subject area and also took the opinion of the Central Groundwater Board and in its report of 9 th August, 2002 it recommended that the ban on mining activities and pumping of groundwater in and from an area up to 5 km from the Delhi-Haryana border in the Haryana side of the Ridge and also in the Aravalli hills must be maintained.

43. EPCA gave a further report on 21st October, 2002 reaffirming its earlier recommendations. It was further recommended that if mining is allowed to continue in this area, it would have serious implications for the groundwater reserves. EPCA also noticed uncontrolled construction activities that would expand urban habitation considerably in future and therefore recommended that unless immediate measures were taken to conserve and augment water resources in the area, an acute survival crisis could be expected. Interviews with local villagers in the vicinity of the mines confirmed that water shortage was already a serious problem in the region.

65. This Court also noted the view of the Central Ground Water Board to the effect that the area in question in village Anangpur has been notified as a very precarious groundwater situation and that any construction activity therein without adequate water reserves will also have a negative effect. It was also noted that the groundwater table is already at a critical stage in Faridabad.

66. The decision of this Court rendered on 14th May, 2008 has attained finality and all the submissions advanced by the applicant were duly considered and rejected by a Bench of three learned judges of this Court. The issue whether the applicant could make any construction whatsoever on the notified land that is Khasra Nos. 9 to 16 in village Anangpur in violation of the notification issued under the provisions of the PLP Act was not open to discussion earlier and in any event is no longer res integra or open to any further discussion or examination.