G N KHAJURIA Vs. DELHI DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The appellants are some of the residents of Sarita Vihar. According to them, respondent No. 1, Delhi Development Authority (DDA), permitted a nursery school to be opened in Park No. 6 of Packet Rs. A' of Sarita Vihar by respondent No. 2 in complete violation of the provisions of Delhi Development Act, 1957 (for short the Act). When they approached with this grievance, the High Court of Delhi found no merit and dismissed the writ petition.

(2.) The short and important point which is required to be determined is whether the school in question is in possession of the land in question in violation of the statutory provisions contained in the Act. According to Shri P. P. Rao, learned Sr. Counsel appearing for the appellants, there is no escape from the conclusion that the school was allowed to be opened in the park in violation of what has been contained in Sections 7 and 8 of the Act. The stand of DDA on the other hands, as put forward by Shri Jaitely, is that the appellants have either mis-conceived the statutory provisions or are interested, for one reasons or the other, in seeing that the nursery school does not function at the place allotted to it by the DDA. The counsel for respondent No. 2 buttresses this submission by contending that a school having been allowed to be opened and this respondent having spent substantial amount of money in raising a permanent structure at the site, we may not do anything, at this stage, to uproot the school which would cause not only financial loss to the respondent but would hamper the educational progress of the students as well.

(3.) A perusal of Sections 7 and 8 of the Act which find place in Chapter III under the heading "Master Plan and Zonal Development Plans, " shows that the Development Authority is under an obligation to prepare a master plan which shall define the various zones into which Delhi may be divided for the purposes of development. Section 8 enjoins that a zonal development plan may contain a site-plan and use-land for the development of the zone and show the approximate locations and extents of land-uses proposed in the zone, inter alia, for such public works and utilities as schools, public and private spaces. This is what finds place in sub-section (2) of Section 8. Clause (d) of sub-section (2) provides that the zonal development plan to be prepared by the Authority would in particular contain provisions, inter alia, for the allotment or reservation of land for open spaces, gardens, recreation grounds and school, as mentioned in sub-clause (ii). Our attention is further invited by Shri Rao to Rule 4 of the Delhi Development (Master Plan and Zonal Development Plan) Rules, 1959, whose sub-Rule (3)(g) states that a draft master plan may include "education, recreation and community facilities plan" indicating proposal for parks, open spaces, recreational, educational and cultural centres.