JANARDHAN WALU GADEKAR Vs. ASSISTANT COLLECTOR AND COMPETENT AUTHORITY UNDER THE URBAN LANDS C AND R ACT 1976

JUDGEMENT

(1.) As all these writ petitions involve common questions of law and fact, they were heard together and are being disposed of by this common judgment.

(2.) It is the case of the petitioner Janardhan Walu Gadekar in Writ petition No. 887 of 1984 that he is an agriculturist residing in a farmhouse with the members of his family in an agricultural land bearing S. No. 37/1 admeasuring 90 Ars situate at Deolali in District Nashik. The said land is situated within the Municipal limits of erstwhile Nashik Road-Deolali Municipal Council, constituted under the Maharashtra Municipalities Act and now merged in the Nashik Municipal Corporation constituted under the Bombay Provincial Corporation Act, 1949. According to the petitioners along with the members of his family he is cultivating the said land and growing therein crops like sugarcane, grapes, wheat, Bajri and other bagayat and bhusar crops. There is a well situated in the said land which is utilised for growing bagayat crops. He also owns cattle, including bullocks and cows that are tethered in the in the farmhouse and are used for the purpose of cultivation. Thus it is his case that the said land is in his personal cultivation. This personal cultivation is reflected in the revenue records. It is also his case that his total holding of agricultural land does not exceed the limits of ceiling as prescribed by the Maharashtra Agricultural Lands (Ceiling on holdings) Act, 1961.

(3.) He then contended that the Maharashtra Regional Town Planning Act, 1966 is applicable to the area in question including Nashik Agglomeration and the lands within the limits of the erstwhile Nashik Road Deolali Municipal Council. The Nashik Road Deolali Municipal Council acting as a planning Authority under the MRTP Act, published a draft development plan for the municipal area on or about 18th July, 1968 earmarking the petitioners said land as in area for residential purpose. The said draft development plan came to be sanctioned by the Government on or about 18th August, 1972 and is brought into force from 2nd December, 1972. It is also his case that neither the Municipal Council nor the Town Planning Authorities have taken any steps to develop the area comprised in the development plan, except earmarking the same for different purposes in the draft development plan. Therefore inspite of the fact that the land is reserved for residential purpose, the same is still under his personal cultivation. On the basis of these facts, it is contended by the petitioner that though in view of the provisions of the Urban Land (Ceiling and Regulation) Act, 1976 and particularly section 2(o) which defined urban land and explanation to the said section, the said land shall not deemed to be mainly used for the purpose of agriculture as it has been specified in the master plan for a purpose other than agriculture, in view of the provisions of Article 31-A, second proviso, provisions of the Urban Ceiling Act will not apply to these lands and hence will have to be excluded while determining the ceiling area under the said Act.