SAJO VARGHESE Vs. VIJAYAPURAM GRAMA PANCHAYAT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Petitioner owns 101.76 ares of land in Vijayapuram Village in Kottayam District. He intends to develop the said land by constructing a cluster of residential houses. The petitioner has already secured the development permit and building permit required for the said purpose from the first respondent Panchayat. It is stated that having regard to the terrain of the land and the nature of construction proposed, the petitioner needs to remove a sizable quantity of ordinary earth from the land for the proposed construction. It is also stated that he needs the permission of the third respondent, the Geologist for removing ordinary earth from the land. The petitioner therefore, preferred Ext.P6 application before the third respondent for the said purpose. The writ petition is filed thereupon, alleging that the third respondent is not considering Ext.P6 application and that the petitioner is unable to go on with the construction proposed by him. The petitioner therefore, seeks appropriate directions in this regard in the writ petition.

(2.) When the matter was taken up on 13.10.2020, since the petitioner is proposing to remove ordinary earth from a large area, the learned Government Pleader expressed doubt as to the genuineness of the purpose referred to by the petitioner in the application preferred before the third respondent. This court, in the circumstances, passed an interim order on that day, directing the third respondent to file a statement as to the quantum of ordinary earth proposed to be removed by the petitioner for putting up the structures proposed by him, after causing an inspection to be made in the site.

(3.) In the light of the interim order referred to above, a report has been filed by the third respondent stating, among others, that the petitioner is proposing to construct 48 residential units and an allied structure in 18 different blocks at three different levels in his land referred to in the writ petition; that the work of the project has already commenced by the petitioner; that the petitioner needs to remove 9088.43 cubic meters of ordinary earth from the land for the said purpose, of which 2486.37 cubic meters of ordinary earth is required for filling and the remaining quantity, viz, 6602.06 cubic meters of ordinary earth needs to be removed outside the land.