Green Valley Residents Welfare Association vs State of Haryana and others

Ranjan Gogoi, C.J.—This writ petition has been filed seeking the Court''s interference in the matter of removal of unauthorized industries and workshops adjacent to the walls of the houses of the members of the petitioner-association. According to the petitioner-association, the said industries are creating noise and air pollution besides discharging hazardous chemicals and waste thereby endangering the environment and public health.

The petitioner-association further averred that these industries have come up in what are primary residential areas and the same being unauthorized, complaints have been lodged before the authorities of the State which have not been attended to. Hence the writ petition.

By order dated 04.01.2012 we had posed the following queries to the learned counsel for the petitioner:-

i) The members of the petitioner''s association, who stand to benefit, if the prayers made are to be granted, have not been identified ?.

ii) The prayers made, if granted, will have the effect of conferring direct benefit on the members of the petitioner''s association. Therefore, the grievances raised may not disclose any element of public interest ?.

iii) The grant of relief would require the Court to go into many disputed questions of fact, particularly, the issue whether the residential premises of the members of the petitioner''s association had been constructed first followed by the industries complained against or vice-versa ?.

The petitioner has sought to reply the said queries by means of an affidavit dated 09.01.2012 of the authorized signatory of the petitioner-association. Apart from making a statement that the petitioner-association has 835 members and the industries complained of are located in the residential areas, the fine questions posed by the Court, as extracted above, remain unanswered. Be that as it may, considering the fact that the present is a public interest litigation and whether public interest is being adversely affected should not be judged by application of too stringent legal principles, we have proceeded in the matter. In this connection we have perused the written statement filed by the respondent No. 4-Director Town and Country Planning, Faridabad, Haryana. In para No. 8 of the aforesaid written statement, it has been stated that the action has been taken for demolition of unauthorized constructions on two dates i.e. 8.12.2009 and 26.08.2010 in the course of which approximately 43 structures were demolished. The next phase of the programme which was due on 4.10.2011, however, could not be carried out for certain administrative reasons.

Shri Sehgal, learned Addl. Advocate General, Haryana has now submitted that the concerned authority will recommence the operations against the unauthorized constructions/structures and will take all necessary action in accordance with law.

Though the learned counsel for the petitioner-association would like the Court to declare all the industries to be unauthorized for being located in a residential sector, none of the aforesaid industries including such new industries against which grievance has been directed have been made parties to the writ petition. That apart, whether a particular location is an industrial, commercial or residential zone, is largely a question of fact and in the present case the Court has been asked to make such a determination on a consideration of wide variety of factual details. That apart, whether any of the industries or units set up have in the meantime been afforded protection by any Court of law is also not known to the Court. In these circumstances, the order that would be reasonable to be passed in this Public Interest Litigation is to direct the official respondents to carry on the process of identification and necessary action against the defaulting units/structures already initiated by them and complete the process within a reasonable time. Beyond the above, no further order would be justified. We, therefore, deem it appropriate to close this Public Interest Litigation with the aforesaid directions and observations.