SHAJIR ARAFATH Vs. STATE OF KERALA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE petitioner has approached this Court seeking positive directions to the 2nd respondent to grant building permit in terms of Exts.P2 and P4 applications within a stipulated time after quashing Exts.P14, P16 and P18.

(2.) THE petitioner purchased 1.75 acres of land under Ext.P1 which comes within the administrative jurisdiction of the 2nd respondent. Thereafter, he applied for permission to construct a culvert and also for putting up a small residential house, which were pending before the respondents without being processed. Therefore, the petitioner approached this Court with W.P(C) No.29788/2013 wherein orders were issued to the 2nd respondent to consider Exts.P2 and P4 applications within a time limit.

(3.) IN the counter affidavit filed by the 2nd respondent it was contended that the application for permission to construct the culvert had already been rejected by the panchayat as per Resolution No.6(1)(13) dated 26.02.2013. This fact had been intimated to the petitioner early on 12.4.2013. Again, the petitioner submitted another application for the same relief by Ext.P7 which has been rejected on them on the basis of the report received from the Divisional Forest Officer, Kalpetta. The DFO has stated in the letter that the land adjacent to the property of the petitioner comprised in Sy. No.224/1 is a dense forest area which is included in EFL Forest having "Odakadukal and Marshi field". They contended that if permission to construct the culvert is granted, it would adversely affect the ecological stability of the area and would result in drastic consequences to the dense forest and "Odakadukal and Marshi field". Copy of the report of the DFO is produced as Ext.R2(a). They further contended that the northern and eastern sides of the land are included in the VFC item No.93 Aminagiri Forest and southern side is included in the EFL forest.