DELHI STATE GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES CO OPERATIVE HOUSE BUILDING SOCIETY LIMITED Vs. UNICIPAL CORPORATION OF DELHI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This writ petition has been filed by thepetitioners, namely, ( 1 ) Delhi State Government Employees Co-operative House Building Society Ltd., Delhi, (2) Shri B. P. Jain, President of the said Society and (3) Shri Gopal Krishan, Secretary of thesaid Society, praying (1) that the respondents, namely, (1) the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (hereinafter referred to as the "Corporation") and (2) The Commissioner, Municipal Corportion of Delhi, bedirected to take over and maintain the civic amenities and other statutory and public services of the colony established and developed by theaforesaid Society which enjoined upon them by section 42 of the DelhiMunicipal Corporation Act, 1957 (hereinafter referred to as the "Corporation Act"); and (2) that the respondents be restrained from levying and collecting any taxes by way of property tax, water tax, scavenging tax and general tax from the residents of the colony unless anduntil the said services and civic amenities are provided to the houseowners and the residents of the colony.

(2.) Petitioner No. 1 is a Society registered in 1955 under the BombayCo-operative Societies Act, 1955, as extended to Delhi, PetitionerNo. 2 is the President of the Society, and Petitioner No. 3 is the Secretary of the Society. The writ petition has been filed on behalf of theSociety and its members through petitioners Nos. 2 and 3 who areduly authorised to file the petition by a resolution passed on 19-7-1970(Annexure K).The facts which have given rise to this writ petition, as stated inthe writ petition, are as follows : The Chief Commissioner, Delhi, acquired a piece of land measuring 83 bighas, 14 biswas. situate in village Rajpur Chhavni, bearing Khasra Nos. 108 and 109, for thebenefit of low paid employees of the Delhi State who later formedthemselves into a Co-operative Society under the name and style ofDelhi State Government Employees House Building Society, PetitionerNo. 1 herein. The said land fell within the area notified under section 12(1) of Delhi Development Act, 1957. It was, therefore, necessary to obtain the approval of the Delhi Development Authority forthe development of the said land into a residential colony. TheSociety, therefore, submitted a lay-out plan for the approval of theDelhi Development Authority. The said Authority approved the layout plan by its Resolution No. 306, dated 27-7-1963, subject to certain terms and conditions. A copy of the approved lay-out plan hasbeen filed as Annexure 'A' and it shows that the area was divided into 192 residential plots of different measurements. The plan also showsthat the Society reserved a certain extent of land for a school and alsoset apart vacant spaces for community requirements such as roads,service lanes, parks. Community Centre etc. According to the petitioners, the Society developed the land complying with all the requirements specified by the Development Authority. It is stated in thewrit petition that metal roads, lanes, sewer lines, water lines and street lights were provided according to the specifications laid down by theDevelopment Authority. After the development of the area, the plotswere allotted by the Society to its members.After fully developing the area, the Society approached the Development Authority for permission for construction of buildings by themembers and the Authority required the Society to enter into an agreement with the Authority regarding, transfer of Community facilities suchas parks etc. to the Development Authority free of cost as a conditionprecedent to the grant of permission to commence the constructionof buildings on the developed land. The Development Authorityalso resquired the Society to transfer the site reserved for school tothe Directorate of Education Delhi. The Society, in compliance withthe above requirements, entered into an agreement, dated 22-8-1964whereby the Society agreed to transfer free of cost the land underroads, lanes, parks, open spaces, Community Centres, schools, hospitals, dispensaries and other places for the general public along withstreet lighting, water supply, sewarage etc. The Society also madeover the area of land earmarked for the school to the Directorate ofEducation, Delhi.After thus complying, with the conditions laid by the DevelopmentAuthority, the Society sought permission of the Development Authority to begin the construction of buildings in the colony which cameto be called the "C.C. Colony". By a letter (Annexure B), dated 12-2-1965, Shri B. C. Sarkar, Administrative Officer, Delhi DevelopmentAuthority, informed the Town Planner. Municipal Corporation ofDelhi, that by Resolution No. 306, dated 27-7-1963, the Development Authority had resolved.-"(a) that the revised layout plan of the Society beapproved;(b) that there was no objection to the seweragesystem being connected at two points on the G.T. Roadsubject to the Society obtaining the prior approval of theMunicipal Corporation of Delhi; and(c) that there was no objection to dry system latrinesfor the interim period subject to the Society obtaining periorapproval of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi."It was also stated in the said letter that the Development Authorityhad passed Resolution No. 10, dated 30-1-1964, in which it wasdecided to delegate powers to the Municipal Corporation of Delhi toscrutinise and dispose of "building applications from developmentareas" and that the Society's land being within the development areaof the Delhi Development Authority, the Corporation would be competent to dispose of building applications in respect of the said land.A, copy of the agreement executed by the Society in favour of theDevelopment Authority and a copy of each of the completion plansfor each service were enclosed. The letter concluded with a request thatindividual building plans from the plot holders of the C.C. Colony maybe entertained, and that necessary arrangements "for the taking overof the services from the Delhi Development Authority for maintanance" may be made.By a letter (Annexure C), dated 5-3-1965, the Town Planner ofthe Corporation, in reply to the aforesaid letter (Annexure B), dated12-2-1965, informed the Administrative Officer of the DevelopmentAuthority that necessary action, as desired, was being taken by hisoffice, and the Development Authority may be pleased to supply sixcopies of the approved layout plan along with a line tracing of thesame. The Town Planner also stated in the said letter as follows:-

(3.) Z.A.E. (B) Civil Lines Zone will please follow thesame procedure referred to in E.E. (B)'s endorsement.