HC orders municipal corporation to submit blueprint of development works in city

Lokmat News Network

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar:

The Aurangabad Bench of Bombay High Court comprising Justice Ravindra Ghuge and Justice Y G Khobragade, on Tuesday, has ordered the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Municipal Corporation (CSMC) to submit the ‘blueprint’ of the development plan considering the construction of works to be undertaken in the city like construction of cement concrete roads; laying of gas pipelines; laying of sewage pipelines and chambers and other works, in future. Meanwhile, the Maharashtra Jeevan Pradhikaran (MJP) has also been ordered to submit the blueprint of the water distribution pipelines to be laid within the city limits. The next hearing on a public interest litigation (PIL) will be held on November 30.

The bench also stated that the CSMC and MJP should clearly mention in the blueprint about the planning and preventive measures it would be taking to ensure that the digging of roads is not done for any sort of development works in any ward of the city.

The court also granted permission to the CSMC to sanction No Objection Certificate (NoC) to undertake extreme urgency works till the starting of Diwali vacation or after vacation, by obtaining permission of the bench.

The petitioner of a PIL, Abdul Hasan Ali Qurram Ali Hasan through Adv Rashmi Kulkarni, brought into notice of the bench, that an interim prohibitory order is in effect stating do not construct any cement concrete road without permission of the bench and do not dig out the roads which are ready. Despite this, the cement concrete road in Asifiya Colony has been built and after construction of the road, the water pipelines were laid down. Accordingly, the bench gave the above order.

Adv Sambhaji Tope, representing the CSMC, brought into notice of the bench that the Asifiya Colony road has been done by the public works department (PWD), not by the municipal corporation. The road has been built from the discretionary fund of the public representative. The CSMC had issued NoC for the road before issuance of the interim prohibitory order by the bench and the drainage pipeline works had been done before starting of the road works.

Chief public prosecutor Dnyaneshwar Kale and Adv B B Kulkarni represented the State Government and Central Government respectively, while Adv Vinod Patil represented MJP. Meanwhile, the bench has also made the PWD and MSEDCL as respondents in the litigation and ordered serving of notices to them.