GRAM PANCHAYAT ZILIELGUDA Vs. GOVERNMENT OF ANDHRA PRADESH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The Legislature of the State of Andhra Pradesh passed the Act, i.e., Andhra Pradesh Urban Areas (Development) Act, being Act No. I of 1975 to provide for development of the urban areas in the State of Andhra Pradesh, according to plan and for matters ancillary thereto. The Bill was reserved by the Governor for the assent of the President, which was received on 20-1-1975. According to sub-section (3) of section 1, the State Government was empowered to appoint, by notification published in the Andhra Pradesh Gazette, the date on which the Act was to come into force. The Government of Andhra Pradesh, by G.O.Ms.No.409 dated 25-9-1975 published in the Gazette on 29-9-1975, appointed 1st October, 1975 as the date on which the Act was to come into force. The Act contemplates notification of an area as urban area, which urban area can be declared to be a development area by the Government under Section 13(1) of the Act. Both the specification of the urban area and the declaration of development area have to bs done by the Government, by a notification. Section 3 contemplates the creation of an Urban Development Authority, which has to prepare a Master Plan for the development area. There shall be a general Master Plan and also a zonal development plan, which too have to be prepared in accordance with the procedure prescribed by the Act. After these plans become final, they have to be implemented in accprdance with the provisions of the Act. It is relevant to notice even at this stage that the expression 'notification' is defined in clause (k) of Section 2, to mean a notification published in the Andhra Pradesh Gazette.

(2.) The Government of Andhra Pradesh published in the Andhra Pradesh Gazette dated 1-10-1975, two notifications. We are concerned herein only with one of the notifications, viz., G. O Ms. No. 411, dated 27-9-1975. (Uader the other notification, the Urban Development Authority, called "Hyderabad Urban Development Authority" was created, as contemplated by Section 3). The notification cantained in G.O.Ms. No. 411 is in two parts. The first part contains the notification issued under clause (o) of section 2 of the Act, notifying a certain area as the urban area. The relevant portion of this notification reads as follows : I. In exercise of the powers conferred by clause (o) of section 2 of the Andhra Pradesh Urban Areas (Development) Act, 1975 (Act 1 of 1975), having regard to the extent of and the scop; for its urbanisation and other relevant considerations, the Governor of Andhra Pradesh hereby specifies the area mentioned in the Schedule hereunder which is in the vicinity of the area comprised within the jurisdiction of the Municipal Corporation of Hyderabad, as the Urban Area..." Then follows the Schdule which contains the several villages which are included in the urban area. The second part of the G. O., contains the notification under Section 13 (1) of the Act. It reads :- II. In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (1) of section 13 of the Andhra Pradesh Urban Areas (Development) Act, 1975 (Act I of 1975), the Governor of Andhra Pradesh hereby declares the area comprised within the jurisdiction of the Municipal Corporation of Hyderabad and the other areas specified in the schedule under notification I, to be a development area for the purposes of the said act, which shall be called by the name of the Hyderabad Development Area and the limits of the paid development area shall be as specified in the Schedule hereunder...". Then Follows the schedule, called ''Schedule II", which mentions the limits of the Hyderabad Development Area,

(3.) The Hyderabad Urban Development Authority took steps for preparing a Master Plan and, after following the procedure prescribed by the Act, prepared such a plan and submitted the same for approval of the Government under section 9. The Government approved it, in pursuance to which the Master Plan was published by the Authority.