SANTOSH SUDAM BHALERAO Vs. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner has invoked the writ jurisdiction of this Court under Articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution of India challenging the decisions taken in the meetings of the Minor Modification Committee (MMC) on 21/9/2023 and the Land Allotment Committee (LAC) of MIDC on 25/9/2023, whereby open spaces bearing Nos. 8 and 15 in the Chikalthana MIDC Industrial Area, Aurangabad, came to be allotted to respondent Nos. 7 to 9. The petitioner seeks quashing of these decisions and also direction to the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation ("MIDC") to allot the very same open spaces to him.

(2.) MIDC is a statutory corporation constituted under the Maharashtra Industrial Development Act, 1961 ("MIDC Act"), for the planned and accelerated development of industries within the State. It acquires, develops and disposes its land in notified industrial areas in terms of the MIDC Act and the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation Disposal of Land Regulations, 1975 ("Land Disposal Regulations" or "DLR 1975"). Petitioner submits that Chikalthana Industrial Area, Aurangabad, is one such industrial estate and open spaces Nos. 8 and 15 form part of the layout of said area and were originally shown as open spaces, which were subsequently considered for conversion and allotment.

(3.) The petitioner claims to be a partner in a firm known as M/s Shree Pratiksha Industries. He states that he submitted an application dtd. 24/5/2023 in the name of the said firm for allotment of open spaces Nos. 8 and 15 for setting up a manufacturing unit for agro equipment along with warehousing. He asserts that he submitted another application dtd. 25/8/2023, and that he was ready and willing to invest more than Rs.20 crores in the proposed unit. According to him, under Government notifications dtd. 31/12/2018 and 4/9/2023, agro equipment and food processing industries are recognized as "thrust sectors" entitled to priority allotment and, therefore, his proposal fell within the preferred category.