MINI SUNNY Vs. THURAVOOR GRAMA PANCHAYAT, THURAVOOR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner is stated to be a resident of Ward No.9 of Thuravoor Grama Panchayat at Kidangoor. She is stated to be a cancer patient continuing with the treatment. The petitioner complains that the 5th respondent herein, who is none other than her immediate neighbour is operating a 'smoke house' in the nearby property having an extent of hardly 20 cents for the purpose of drying latex obtained from the 5th respondent's rubber plantation at Illithode near Malayattoor. According to the petitioner, the 5th respondent is operating the smoke house without obtaining the relevant licence from the 1st respondent Panchayat. It is also submitted that the 5th respondent is also using 'sulphur' in the smoke house for the activities of drying rubber sheets and this is causing pollution in the form of dust and smoke. Therefore, the petitioner has filed the captioned writ petition seeking for a direction to the 1st and 2nd respondents to take appropriate steps for stopping the illegal functioning of the smoke house run by the 5th respondent.

(2.) I have heard Sri.Abraham P. George, the learned counsel for the petitioner, Sri.Wilson Urumese, the learned Standing Counsel for respondents 1 and 2, Sri. T.Naveen, the learned Standing Counsel for respondents 3 and 4 as well as Smt.Nayana Varghese for the 5th respondent.

(3.) The learned counsel for the petitioner would invite the attention of this Court to the Kerala Panchayat Raj (Issue of Licence to Factories, Trades, Entrepreneurship Activities and other Services) Rules, 1996 (for short, '1996 Rules'), more particularly the requirement with reference to obtaining a licence with reference to the contents of Schedule - I, Entry 134 to point out that insofar as rubber and rubber products are specifically listed thereunder, the 5th respondent ought to have obtained licence from the Panchayat. He would also point out that as contended in the writ petition the use of sulphur is creating pollution.