SOCIETY FOR SAFE STRUCTURES REGD. SOCIETY THR. ITS GENERAL SECRETARY ANIL AGGARWAL Vs. UNION OF INDIA (UOI) AND ORS.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE principal grievance of the petitioner in the present writ petition is that the region covered under the National Capital Region Planning Board Act, 1985 (hereinafter referred to as the Act) is now a metropolitan area as also the Board constituted thereunder is not only entirely devoid of any local representation but is performing tasks and duties that are now the Constitutional obligations of the units of democratic local government and the said Act is inconsistent with the Constitutional provisions under Part IX -A and Article 243ZF of the Constitution of India. As per the petitioner, the Act in question needs to be either repealed or amended to bring it in line with the Constitution. As per the petitioner, the Board under Section 3 of the Act is entirely devoid of any local representative of the people. The petitioner thus, inter alia, sought a writ of mandamus restraining the respondents from enforcing the said Act as it was inconsistent with and contrary to the Constitution of India.

(2.) IN the counter affidavit filed by Respondent No. 5 National Capital Regional Planning Board, it is stated that the National Capital Region has been created under the provisions of National Capital Region Planning Board Act, 1985 and covers a total area of 33,578 Sq.Kms. with four Constituent sub -regions. It is also stated on behalf of respondent No. 5 that it is concerned only with the area within the National Capital Region and thereby the Regional Plan for the National Capital Region as per provisions of the Act, whereas the planning with regard to Panchayats is to be done as per Article 243G and the 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act, 1992 and that of the Metropolitan area is done by the respective States as per the provisions of the 74th Constitutional Amendment Act, 1992. According to the respondents, the said amendments have given powers to the Metropolitan Planning Committees and District Planning Committees to prepare the draft plans for Metropolitan Areas and Districts respectively whereas the powers to finalize these plans lies with the concerned State Governments. Similarly, it is stated that the District Planning Committee has been empowered to consolidate the draft plans prepared by Panchayats and Municipalities for each district. There is no provision in the said amendments to converge all the District Development Plans to prepare a sub regional plan by addressing inter -district concerns or prepare a Development Plan at the Regional Level for the National Capital Region specially with regard to integration of Physical (Spatial) Plan/Land Use Plan with Economic, Fiscal and other Sectoral Plans and programmes.

(3.) IN view of the reply filed by the respondents, we fail to see how the Constitutional mandate has been violated or the National Capital Region Planning Board Act, 1985 stands repealed by the Constitution or is inconsistent with the Constitution of India as claimed by the petitioner. The petition is vague and lacks specifics as to the challenge to the vires of the Act. Neither during the course of the arguments nor in the petition has a case been made out to establish how the National Capital Region Planning Board Act, 1985 is contrary to the Constitution. The challenge to the vires of an Act is a serious issue and requires proper and specific challenges and grounds of unconstitutionality being set out in the petition. However, the present petition is completely lacking in the same.