ANNAPURNA CO OPERATIVE HOUSING SOCIETY Vs. SPECIAL OFFICER AND COMPETENT AUTHORITY URBAN LAND CEILLING

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The Urban Land (Ceiling and Regulation) Act 1975 (for short "the Act"), was brought into existence, with a noble object of ensuring proper distribution of urban land and prevention of concentration thereof, in few hands. The validity of the Act was also upheld by the Supreme Court. No one can expect the implementation of such an Act to be a smooth affair. However, experience for the past three decades has only shown that the accomplishments under it are far from satisfactory. Apart from not being able to be a device to control the prices of urban land, it has only indirectly helped in steep rise thereof. Though the Act was repealed in the year 1999, it still haunts many citizens in the State of A.P.

(2.) The petitioner is a co-operative housing society. Sri Jayagiri Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy Devasthanam Temple, North Lalaguda, Secunderabad, held an extent of Acs. 17-19 gts, within the urban agglomeration of Hyderabad. It was exempted from the purview of the Act, in view of Section 19 (1)(v) thereof.

(3.) The Temple faced acute problem of encroachment by antisocial elements, over the land. Therefore, it proposed to alienate an extent of Acs.8-00 of land held by it, so that it can at least have the benefit of the sale consideration of that land. It approached the Government to grant exemption under Section 74 of A.P. Charitable and Hindu Religious Institutions and Endowments Act, 1966 (for short "the Endowments Act"). Permission was accorded through G.O. Ms. No.44, Revenue (Endowments. II) Department, dated 15.1.1982. The land was purchased by the petitioner society, through a sale deed dated 6.3.1984.