The Gujarat High Court dismissed two Public Interest Litigations (PILs) pending for more than 10 years.
The first PIL sought the following relief :-
-To put a complete ban on any construction without parking facility, “Change of Use Permission”, “Business Use Permission” from Respondents and without permission from respective authority in the residential zone Manekchowk of Ahmedabad City.
-To establish a parking center for the illegal commercial buildings from the fine-penalty recovered from the persons who had constructed buildings without complying with the law and from the Respondents, to solve the problem of traffic and parking.
The petitioner is raising a dispute with respect to Manekchowk area, which is located in an old walled city known as old city in Ahmedabad. The issue, however, gradually boiled down to addressing the grievances pertaining to the units engaged in making gold and silver ornaments in the old walled city of Ahmedabad known as Manekchowk area.
Vide order dated 02.05.2016, taking note of the list of different manufacturing units, broadly categorised in three parts, the Court has sought the response of the Gujarat Pollution Control Board. As noted from the order dated 02.05.2016, a total of 70 units were categorised in the first category where according to the Corporation, the nature of activity was innocuous and, therefore, would not require any licensing control by such units. The second category was pertaining to the units were licences subject to verification can be granted. The Corporation has clubbed 2063 units in the said category. Third category included 88 units, which according to the Corporation, due to some reason or the other, may not be permitted to operate. The reasons pointed out by the Corporation with respect to the said units are noted in the order dated 02.05.2016 as under :-
“(i) In units where silver/gold melting is being carried out through electric furnace, the said unit/units require NOC from GPCB/Appropriate Authority.
(ii) In units where silver/gold melting is being carried out through diseal and/or charcoal, the said unit/units must be sealed.
(iii) In case of units where small amount of acid/chemical is being used, the said unit/units need to obtain NOC from the appropriate committee (which is formed as per the order issued from Honourable High Court.)
The advocate for the GPCB, however, in response would submit that none of the units required any license from the Pollution Control Board. In order to bring the response of GPCB, time was granted to file an affidavit to narrate as to whether any of the activities by 88 units falling in the third category would require consent, no objection or license from GPCB.
The Court noted that pursuant to the orders passed by the Court, Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation has effected seal on buildings which were used unauthorized for commercial purposes and the buildings in question were sealed only on the ground that there were shops on the ground floor, which were used for commercial purposes for the manufacture of jewelry.
Taking note of the above facts and the main prayer made in the petition, the Bench noted that the petitioner has filed the petition with the wrong premise that the area which is known as Manekchowk existing in walled city known as Pole is an area of purely residential use and the commercial activities in the constructions which were raised initially for residential purposes cannot be carried out.
Further the Court noted that as per the assertion made by G.H. Virk, Counsel for the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation, the area known as Manekchowk in the old city, which is old walled city is of mixed use and contains many heritage structures. There are residences and shops of the people in the locality. There are many structures where people have shops at the ground floor and residing on the first or second floor. In such scenario, a vague prayer made by the petitioner to remove all illegal construction for providing parking facility in the Manekchowk area or to address the parking problem, cannot be granted.
In the connected PIL, filed by one person stated to be the president of the Society, a prayer has been made to issue directions to the respondents to take necessary action either to demolish the construction of commercial premises on House in Gusa Parekh ni Pol, Khadia, Ahmedabad or to take any other legal action where under direction be issued not to use the newly constructed premises for any commercial activity.
The area known as Gusa Parekh ni Pol, Khadia, Ahmedabad is also located inside the walled city and as per the submission of advocate for the Municipal Corporation, the area is of mixed use. For any particular constructions raised by any one illegally, it would always be open for the Corporation to initiate action by issuance of a proper notice, the Court directed.
“Vague assertions made in the Writ petition with regard to constructions raised by the owners of the houses in question and using the premises for commercial purposes cannot be a reason to grant any relief,” the Division Bench of Chief Justice Sunita Agarwal and Justice Pranav Trivedi observed.
“Moreover, the last order in the PIL is of the year 2016. For more than 8 years, the petitioner has not pressed the prayer in the PIL into service. The current status and position of the area has not been brought on record by means of any affidavit filed in the recent past. We, therefore, dismiss both the PILs on the ground that the reliefs prayed therein cannot be granted. Interim relief, if any, granted earlier shall stand vacated,” the order reads.