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2001 DIGILAW 947 (PNJ)

Mrs. Kuldeep Kaur Dhilon v. State of Punjab

2001-08-29

ASHUTOSH MOHUNTA, JAWAHAR LAL GUPTA

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JUDGMENT Ashutosh Mohunta, J. - The petitioners have challenged the order dated June 11, 2001 passed by respondent No. 1 Principal Secretary to Government of Punjab, Department of Local Government, and the notification dated June 15, 2001. By these, the area of village Machhi Joa was excluded from jurisdiction the of Municipal Council, Sultanpur Lodhi. 2. First the facts : On February 14, 1975 the residential area of village Machhi Joa was included in the Municipal Council, Sultanpur Lodhi. However, no development work was done in the area. Probably the area lay in a corner of the township of Sultanpur Lodhi. Faced with this situation, the residents of this village requested for its exclusion from the limits of Municipal Council, Sultanpur Lodhi. Letters were written by the inhabitants of the village to the Executive Officer of the Nagar Council and to respondent No. 4 Mrs. Upinderjit Kaur, Minister for Technical Education. It was represented by the villagers that the income earned from this village is deposited with the Municipal Council, but no amount is spent for the development of the area. Thus, they requested that the village be excluded from the municipal limits of Sultanpur Lodhi. 3. The matter was put up in the meeting of the Nagar Council, Sultanpur Lodhi on April 30, 1999. It was unanimously resolved to recommend that village Machhi Joa be excluded from the area of Nagar Council, Sultanpur Lodhi, and that a separate Panchayat of the village be constituted. A copy of the said resolution is at Annexure P3 with the writ petition. 4. In pursuance to the resolution of the Nagar Council, a notification dated December 9, 1999 was issued. It was proposed to exclude the residential area of village Machhi Joa from Nagar Council, Sultanpur Lodhi. Objections were invited from the inhabitants. The objections were heard by respondent No. 1. About 50 villagers had appeared and requested that village Machhi Joa should be taken out of the jurisdiction of Municipal Council, Sultanpur Lodhi. The villagers pointed out that no development work had taken place in the village for the last about 20 years after its merger in the Municipal Council. After hearing objections, respondent No. 1 ordered that the entire village Machhi Joa be excluded from the Municipal Council, Sultanpur Lodhi. In pursuance to the order dated June 11, 2001, notification dated June 15, 2001 was issued. After hearing objections, respondent No. 1 ordered that the entire village Machhi Joa be excluded from the Municipal Council, Sultanpur Lodhi. In pursuance to the order dated June 11, 2001, notification dated June 15, 2001 was issued. The area of village Machhi Joa was excluded from the High Court of Municipal Council, Sultanpur Lodhi. A copy of the said notification is at Annexure P13 with the writ petition. 5. Mr. Naresh Prabhakar, learned counsel for the petitioners, has argued that the procedure as envisaged under Section 5(1) of the Punjab Municipal Act, 1911 (as amended by Punjab Municipal Act, 1994) was not followed, inasmuch as the State Government did not consult the concerned municipality before excluding the area from the Municipal Council. 6. The said argument is wholly devoid of merit. A unanimous resolution was passed by the Municipal Council, Sultanpur Lodhi on April 30, 1999. It had been resolved to exclude the area of village Machhi Joa from the limits of Municipal Council, Sultanpur Lodhi. Apart from this, the objections were duly heard by respondent No. 1, before whom a large number of inhabitants of the village had represented that their village be excluded from the Municipal Council. Even the request of respondent No. 4 Mrs. Upinderjit Kaur, Minister, Housing and Urban Development, Punjab for excluding the area of village Machhi Joa was taken into consideration. It is only after considering all these factors that notification for exclusion of the area was issued. 7. It was further argued by Shri Prabhakar that the notification had been issued at the behest of respondent No. 4. 8. We find no material on record, by which the above allegation can be substantiated. In fact, a persual of various documents on the file clearly shows that the inhabitants of village Machhi Joa were continuously representating for the exclusion of the area of the village from the Municipal Council. Apart from the bald statement of the petitioners, no material has been placed on record to show that the area, which has been excluded, was at the behest of respondent No. 4. 9. Apart from the bald statement of the petitioners, no material has been placed on record to show that the area, which has been excluded, was at the behest of respondent No. 4. 9. The Executive Officer of Nagar Council, Sultanpur Lodhi, had also addressed a letter to the Regional Deputy Director, Local Bodies, Jalandhar, wherein it was clearly stated that "this village being separate and away from the City and since the Municipal Council is financially weak and as such, the development works cannot be carried out in a satisfactory manner." 10. It was also argued that the provisions of Section 4(1) of the Punjab Municipal Act, 1911, were not followed. The said section reads as under :- "4(1) That State Government, may, having regard to the population of the area, the density of population therein, the revenue generated for local administration, the percentage of employment in non-agricultural activities, the economic importance or such factors, as it may deem fit, specify, by notification in the Official Gazette; any area to be transitional area or a smaller urban area for the purpose of this Act." A perusal of the above provision shows that the State Government may take into consideration various factors, such as the density of population, revenue generated, percentage of employment in non-agricultural activities and such other factors; in case any area is to be declared a transitional area or a smaller urban area. In the present case, none of these points was urged by the petitioners when they raised their objections before respondent No. 1. The petitioners had a right to raise all the objections before respondent No. 1 and they cannot be permitted to raise these objections at this stage in the writ petition. In any case, nothing has been pointed out to show that the parameters laid down in the provision would not permit the impugned exclusion. 11. The power to include or exclude any area from the municipal limits lies solely with the State Government. It is the best Judge to decide as to which area is to be included and which area are to be excluded. In the present case, the inhabitants of village Machhi Joa had been continuously raising a demand to exclude their area from the Municipal Council, Sultanpur Lodhi because virtually no development work had taken place for the last about 20 years. In the present case, the inhabitants of village Machhi Joa had been continuously raising a demand to exclude their area from the Municipal Council, Sultanpur Lodhi because virtually no development work had taken place for the last about 20 years. Apart from this, the Municipal Council had unanimously resolved to exclude the area of village Machhi Joa from the municipal limits of the Council. Lastly, respondent No. 1, who heard the objections, was satisfied that the interests of the area could be best served by excluding it from the Municipal Council. Thus, there is no illegality in the issuance of notification dated June 15, 2001 (Annexure P13). 12. It deserves notice that the petitioners are unhappy not because of the concern for the people. It is only the loss of a constituency which they have been representing that has moved them. The interest is not public but only private. Consequently, the writ petition is devoid of merit and is dismissed in limine. Petition dismissed.