The Chhattisgarh High Court has recently dismissed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by a resident of the Atal Awas Yojana residential colony, seeking directions to the Chhattisgarh Housing Board and other authorities to provide basic amenities such as a boundary wall, main gate, school, health centre, community centre, commercial shops, and park to the residents of the colony.
The petitioner, a retired government employee, had bought a house in the colony and claimed to be speaking on behalf of the residents.
He alleged that the operation of the sewerage system in the colony posed a serious threat to the health of the residents, and that the toxic gases emanating from the open septic tank made it unbearable for the residents to live in their houses.
The petitioner’s counsel submitted that the residents had repeatedly requested the authorities to take action, but to no avail. He argued that the non-action and lackadaisical approach of the authorities had created non-habitable conditions for the residents, violating their fundamental right to residence guaranteed by Article 19(1)(e) of the Constitution of India.
However, the Division Bench of Chief Justice Ramesh Sinha and Justice Ravindra Kumar Agrawal observed that the petitioner had failed to justify the maintainability of the PIL.
It noted that the petitioner had earlier filed a petition with similar prayers, which was dismissed by a Single Judge of the court as not maintainable, since alternative forums were available to the petitioner under different Acts or provisions for redressal of his grievance.
In view of this, the court dismissed the PIL, leaving it open to the petitioner to approach the appropriate forum for redressal of his grievance.
The security amount deposited by the petitioner was also forfeited.