Nagpur: The Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court has cleared a major legal hurdle for a crucial sewage treatment project in Nagpur by dismissing a petition filed by Shree Ganesh Builders Limited seeking release of more than 12 hectares of land reserved for a Sewage Treatment Plant (STP).
A division bench comprising Justice Anil S. Kilor and Justice Raj D. Wakode held that a purchase notice containing discrepancies in the ownership title was legally defective and could not trigger the deemed lapse of a land reservation under Section 127 of the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning (MRTP) Act, 1966.
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The ruling is significant for Nagpur’s civic infrastructure as it enables the Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) to move ahead with construction of the proposed STP and pumping station under the Maharashtra Government-funded Pohra River Pollution Abatement Project.
The dispute relates to land bearing Khasra Nos. 38, 39/2 and 39/3 at Mouza Chikhli (Khurd). The builder had issued a purchase notice in June 2014, contending that the reservation on the land had lapsed.
The court, however, found a crucial flaw in the notice. The 7/12 extracts accompanying the petition showed ownership in the names of three different entities, a partnership firm and two separate limited companies. The petitioner failed to rectify the discrepancy in title or challenge the NMC’s rejection of the purchase notice for more than a decade.
The bench also took note of the builder’s conduct during the intervening period. Despite claiming that the reservation had already lapsed, the petitioner participated in land acquisition proceedings, sought valuation of the property, accepted the acquisition award process and subsequently filed a reference seeking enhanced compensation.
The court held that the petitioner could not adopt contradictory positions on the same land and invoked the legal principle of “approbate and reprobate”, under which a party cannot simultaneously accept and reject the same transaction or course of action depending on convenience.
The High Court also attached considerable importance to the public purpose behind the reservation. It observed that the proposed STP was an indispensable public health project, particularly in view of Nagpur’s growing population and the increasing sewage load on the city’s existing treatment infrastructure.
The NMC has already deposited Rs 11.77 crore as compensation with the Land Acquisition Officer and issued work orders for execution of the project.
While dismissing the writ petition, the bench granted the petitioner a limited window to pursue a possible appeal. On the request of the petitioner’s counsel, the existing status quo has been continued for four weeks, after which the protection will automatically cease.
The order effectively strengthens the NMC’s position in acquiring the land and proceeding with the long-pending sewage infrastructure project, subject to the four-week interim period.
Senior advocate Devendra Chavan appeared for the NMC, assisted by NMC Law Officer Suraj Paroche.
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