PARISAR AN ORGANISATION Vs. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India is by and on behalf of five voluntary organizations of Pune and the two Secretaries of petitioner Nos. 1 and 2. The petitioner organizations appear to be interested inter alia in the protection and preservation of ecological balance and proper environment in and around Pune City. Through this petition they have challenged and prayed for quashing of Government Notification Nos. 1879/2966/ud/7 dated April 29,1981 and the Government order/direction/letter No. TPS/1886/916/cr/147/ud/7 dated October 5, 1987 mainly on the grounds, that the aforesaid notification and order/direction/letter :

(2.) BRIEFLY stated the relevant facts are that the suit land is about 1/4th portion of the land under Survey No. 81, Bhamburda, Pune. Its situation is almost at the top of a hill popularly known as Hanuman Hill. The land under Survey No. 81 and perhaps the land on the entire hill is shown in "no Development Zone" in the Development Plan of 1966 and was declared to be "reserved Forest" since 1879. The entire land under Survey No. 81 admeasuring 3. 26 hectres was leased out to the Respondent No. 3 under an agreement dated October 7, 1975 (Exhibit A, page 32 of the paper book) at a nominal lease rent for 50 years inter alia for planting trees and for constructing a pagoda for the use of visitors. Respondent No. 3 is a society registered under the Societies Registration Act mainly for the purpose of carrying on educational and cultural activities. Original Development plan for Pune Metropolitan Region sanctioned by the Government in 1976 also provided that Hills and Hill slopes should be preserved or afforestation and creation of recreational amenities for the Pune City. Some times thereafter i. e. in the year 1976, Respondent No. 3 requested the State Government to take the suit land out of "reserved Forest" and allow it to construct a building for a Law College. A similar request was again made by Respondent No. 3 by its letter dated December 29, 1977. On March 8, 1978 the State Government issued a letter to the, Pune Municipal Corporation directing it to initiate a proposal for minor modification of the development plan under section 37 of the M. R. T. P. Act for converting the suit land from "no Development Zone" to "public and Semi Public Zone". On January 19, 1979 the State Government issued a notification under section 27 of the Indian Forest Act declaring that the suit land had ceased to be reserved forest from the date of the publication of the said notification. On August 9, 1979 the Pune Municipal Corporation issued a notification under section 37 of the M. R. T. P. Act indicating its intention of converting the land under Survey No. 81, Bhamburda from hilly lands into public and semi public zone. This notification was published in the Gazette on August 16, 1979 and on October 3, 1979 the Pune Municipal Corporation requested the State Government for sanction of modification of the use of the land under Survey No. 81 from No Development Zone to Public and Semi Public Zone. Sanction was accorded by the State Government on April 29,1981 and notification in this regard was published in the Official Gazette on June 18, 1981. In the meantime, first in the form of an Ordinance and thereafter in the form of regular Act now "forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 was brought on the Statute Book with effect from December 27, 1980. However despite the aforesaid notification the proposal to allow the Respondent No. 3 to construct any building on the suit land was stayed or not accepted as such by the State Government. By a notification dated September 17, 1982 the Government of Maharashtra under powers vested in it under the M. R. T. P. Act appointed the Director of Planning, Maharashtra State, Pune to be a Special Officer and directed him to take action for publication of notice under the said Act and to submit a draft development plan for Pune City to the Government for sanction under section 31 in accordance with the procedure laid down in the M. R. T. P. Act. The draft development plan was published on September 18, 1982 and the said officer after considering and taking into account the suggestions and objections received from the public submitted the modified draft development plan for Pune City for the sanction of the State Government under section 31 of the M. R. T. P. Act on April 27, 1984. There is no dispute that the suit land was shown both in the original draft development plan and the modified draft development plan in public and semipublic zone and that the petitioners had made their representations before the said special officer which were considered by him while submitting the modified draft development plan for sanction to the State Government. The draft modified development plan was sanctioned by the Government under section 31 of the M. R. T. P. Act on January 5, 1987 and the final development plan for Pune City thus came into force with effect from February 6, 1987. In the meantime, Respondent No. 3 received certain belongings of Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar on January 22, 1982. It also got an allotment of one acre of land of final plot No. 1778 from the Education Department, Government of Maharashtra on which it constructed buildings for the proposed Law College during the period from 1983 to 1987. On May 31, 1985 the Revenue and Forest Department of State Government sanctioned the construction of building on 20% of the suit land on the conditions that the suit land was covered by the boundary wall and that the balance of the land was developed into a garden and/or afforestation. By its letter dated September 20, 1985 (page 227) the Revenue and Forest Department, it appears, sent a detailed reply to the Chief Forest Conservator clarifying certain queries raised by him. In particular he was informed that the suit land was disforested by the State Government by a notification long back, that the same was, therefore, to be handed over to the Revenue Department, that out of the land under Survey No. 81 (3. 26 hectors) granted on lease to the Respondent No. 3 in the year 1975, 0. 60 hector had already been aforestated by the respondent No. 3. For remaining land where a pagoda was constructed and the walking passage to the pagoda which the Respondent No. 3 wanted for use a proposal to use the area for non forest purposes be sent for obtaining permission from the Central Government in accordance with the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980. Possession of the suit land was handed over to the Respondent No. 3 on December 6, 1985 after the receipt of occupancy price.

(3.) THE petitioners case, admittedly, is that they are voluntary organisations interested in the protection and preservation of ecological balance, environment and laws affecting the development of Pune City. They have challenged and requested for quashing the State Governments impugned three orders/letters/directions mentioned in the first paragraph of the judgment. For proper appreciation of rival contentions it is necessary to bear in mind the importance and need of protection of ecological balance and environment, the evil consequences that would follow if proper care is not taken to preserve and protect them, the duty of the State and the citizen in this behalf and the parameters for entertaining such petitions. Regarding the need for protection of environment we cannot do better than to quote what the Supreme Court observed in the case of.