DR UMESH CHANDRA MAHESHWARI Vs. MATHURA VRINDAVAN DEVELOPMENT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner has filed this writ petition with the following prayers to issue:

(2.) The fact remains that the petitioner made an application in the prescribed proforma to the respondent-Authority for sanction of a building plan for proposed nursing home at Mathura which the petitioner aspired to establish, being a medical doctor of eminence in his field. The petitioner, for the proposed nursing home, for which he applied on 15th October, 1994 under the scheme name and style of Maheshwarl Hospital, held a site located at Delhi Byepass Road at village Jaisindhpura Dangar, Mathura and the land at the site consisted of agricultural land originally belonging to the petitioner. Although the area fell within the development area of the respondent-authority, no development of any kind as per plan etc. has been undertaken in the area which lies outside the city limits. The petitioner's application for sanction of building plan was registered as application No. 172N Under Section 15(1) of the Uttar Pradesh Urban Planning and Development Act, 1973 (hereinafter referred to as the 'Act') and a demand was raised against the petitioner for levy of betterment charge to the tune of Rs. 1,36,609 plus stacking charge to the tune of Rs. 16,916, thus totalling to an amount of Rs. 1,53,525. In response to the aforesaid demand of betterment charges plus stacking charges as conditions precedent to sanction of petitioner's building plan, the petitioner deposited an amount of Rs. 1,53,525 with the respondent-Development Authority. After deposit of the necessary betterment charges plus stacking charges as demanded, the respondent-authority vide its memo dated 10th May, 1995 granted sanction to the petitioner's building plan and a memo to that effect was issued by the secretary of the respondent-Development Authority approving the building plan submitted by the petitioner. After obtaining the sanction from the respondent-Authority, the petitioner proceeded to construct the proposed nursing home at the proposed site strictly in accordance with the building plan sanctioned by the Development Authority and the construction was completed in the month of April, 1997. Thereafter the hospital was inaugurated on 6th September, 1997. It has been specifically stated that the hospital in question is situated" on the petitioner's ancestral agricultural land, which is now banjar land and that in the dire vicinity of the hospital, no development work or provisions of any facilities for improvement of the surrounding areas has been carried out by the respondent-Development Authority in any manner, whatsoever. However, the petitioner received a memo dated 8th September, 1998, exactly one year after the inauguration, in which it was mentioned that the respondent-Authority has found upon scrutiny of the said application that the petitioner had not paid betterment charge to the tune of Rs. 4,71,995 and that on the said unpaid amount, he was further held liable to pay an interest of Rs. 2.35,997.50, thus, totalling to an amount of Rs. 7,07,992.50.

(3.) The petitioner has further stated that the impugned memo dated 8th September, 1998 has been issued by the Development Authority unilaterally without affording any opportunity of hearing under show cause against the proposed levy or assessment.