KARNATAKA INDUSTRIAL AREAS DEVLOPMENT BOARD Vs. C KENCHAPPA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) In consonance with the principle of Sustainable Development, a serious endeavour has been made in the impugned judgment to strike a golden balance between the industrial development and ecological preservation.

(2.) This appeal is directed against the judgment passed in writ petition No. 36638 of 1999, dated 26-11-1999 by the High Court of Karnataka at Bangalore.

(3.) The respondent agriculturists, who were affected by the acquisition of lands of different villages, filed a writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution with a prayer that the appellant-Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board (in short KIADB) be directed to refrain from converting the lands of the respondents for any industrial or other purposes and to retain the lands for use by the respondents for grazing their cattle. The respondents have filed a writ petition indicating that they are residents of villages and their lands bearing Survey Nos. 79 and 80 of Nallurahalli village are gomal lands (grazing lands for cattle), Survey No. 81 is part of the green-belt in the comprehensive development plan and Survey No. 34 is reserved for the residential purposes. According to the respondents, if the entire land is acquired and an industrial area is developed, the villagers would lose the gomal lands, causing grave hardship to them as well as their cattle. It was also submitted that there would be an adverse impact on the environment of the villages as the industrial area increases. Their prayer in the petition was that the gomal lands and the lands reserved for the residential purposes in the green-belt should not be acquired and allotted for non-agricultural purposes, including industrial purposes.