Delay in draft DP due to pandemic: TMC tells HC
The petition, filed through advocate Pravin Wategaonkar, claimed that the draft DP was published beyond the two-year time limit mandated under the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning (MRTP) Act and, therefore, was untenable in law. TMC has, however, sought to exclude the period from June 2021 to March 2022 from the period.
The Maharashtra Regional Town Planning Act (MRTP) on October 11, 2024, via a notice, proposed a land to be converted from garden to residential use under the DP. Ravindra Mahadev Patil, a Thane resident, highlighted that the Unified Development Control & Promotion Regulations (UDCPR) for Maharashtra, 2020, prohibits any construction within 100 metres of the high flood line of natural lakes in regional plans.
Patil stated that the proposal was published after the expiry of the mandatory 3-year timeframe, hence, prima facie it was illegal. Notably, the MRTP Act lays down a time period of two years, extendable by 12 months, for publishing DP.
Patil alleged that the administrator did nothing for about 15 months after the end of Covid restrictions in April 2022. He pointed out that the MRTP Act lays down that if time fixed for doing anything lapses, the planning authority is deemed to have failed and remaining work shall be automatically transferred to authority mentioned under the provisions of the Act.
Kunal Muley, deputy director of Town Planning, in his affidavit stated that the Constitution of India specifically states that every municipality, unless sooner dissolved, shall continue for five years from the date of appointment. He clarified that the TMC had resumed its duties as administrator immediately after the expiry of the prescribed term on March 5, 2022.
Muley further submitted that the DP expired on June 16, 2023. However, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the computing period in publishing the DP should be calculated after deducting the period of pandemic - 287 days (from June 17, 2021 to March 31, 2022), which was specifically informed by the state government on October 21, 2022.
Since the DP could not be published within the time limit - March 31, 2024 - the TMC sought extension of the original time limit by a year, which was granted till January 19, 2025. After considering the environmental impact, the TMC successfully completed the preparation of the DP and published it on October 11, 2024.
Praying for the dismissal of the petition, Muley concluded, 'All statutory provisions in respect of preparation of draft development plan have been duly followed by the corporation and there is no lacuna on its part. The petitioner had failed to consider the various provisions of the Act and filed the petition on misconceived fact'.
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