JUDGMENT : (Mangesh S. Patil, J.) 1. Heard. Rule. Rule made returnable forthwith. 2. Learned AGP waives service for respondent no. 1. Mr. Kadethankar waives service for respondents nos. 2 to 7. At the joint request of the parties, the matter is heard finally at the stage of admission. 3. The petitioner is a co-operative society of educated unemployed persons duly registered as such under the Maharashtra Co-operative Societies Act, 1960. It is claiming reservation in the commercial complexes being constructed by the respondents nos. 2 to 7 pursuant to the Government resolution dated 17 August 2002. 4. The learned advocate for the petitioner Mr. Darandale adverts our attention to the Government resolution dated 17 August 2002 and particularly clause no. 5 to submit that the Government has decided to reserve 10% of the commercial premises being constructed by the local bodies and the Government undertaking and further stipulating that the societies shall not be required to purchase the shops but to allot them the shops on concessional rent. He would submit that this policy is in tune with the provisions of the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Act, 1976 (hereinafter ‘the MHADA Act’), Maharashtra Housing and Area Development (Disposal of Land) Rules, 1981 (hereinafter ‘the Rules’) as well as the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development (Estate Managements, Sale, Transfer and Exchange of Tenements) Regulations, 1981 (hereinafter ‘the Regulations’). He would advert our attention to rule 5 as also rule 13 of the Rules. 5. Learned advocate Mr. Kadethankar who appears for the respondents nos. 2 to 7 referring to the affidavit in reply submits that the petitioner’s reliance on the Government resolution is mis-placed. It does not supercede the Rules and the Regulations. Going by rules 5 and 13 of the Rules and regulation 21-A and 21-B of the Regulations, no such reservation can be claimed in respect of commercial tenements. 6. We have carefully considered the rival submissions and perused the papers. 7. Rules 5 and 13 of the Rules read as under:- “5. Disposal of land by lease. (1) Subject to the provisions of rule 5A and except for the purpose of raising loans, the vacant lands shall ordinarily be disposed of by a grant of lease. 6. We have carefully considered the rival submissions and perused the papers. 7. Rules 5 and 13 of the Rules read as under:- “5. Disposal of land by lease. (1) Subject to the provisions of rule 5A and except for the purpose of raising loans, the vacant lands shall ordinarily be disposed of by a grant of lease. (2) Subject to the directions given by the Authority from time to time, the Chief Officer, may dispose of any vacant land or plot reserved for residential use in the approved schemes, by a lease to be granted in consideration of premium or rent or both for a term not exceeding 90 years and in the manner prescribed in the regulations to be made by the Authority for the purpose. (3) The premium and lease rent to be charged shall be worked out in a manner to be laid down by the Authority in its regulations or by charging lease rent on the market value at a rate to be decided by the Authority. 13. Reservation of tenements In respect of every group of tenements, or plots of vacant land in a layout to be disposed of for residential use, the Authority shall reserve, for the following categories of persons, tenement/plots in the percentages shows against them:- Category Percentage (1) Scheduled Castes including Neo-Buddhist .. 11% (1-a) Scheduled Tribes .. 6% (1-b) Nomadic Tribes .. 1-1/2% (1-c) Denotified Tribes .. 1-1/2% (2) Journalists .. 2.5% (3) Freedom Fighters .. 2.5% (4) Blind or physically handicapped persons or person in absolute need of accommodation of health ground. .. 2% (5) Families of Defence personnel and personnel of Border Security force, who have been killed, disabled or declared missing in 1962 Sino-Indian Conflict, or in 1965 or 1971 Indo-Pak Conflict, in any combat thereafter. .. 2% (6) Ex-Servicemen and their Dependents .. 5% (7) All sitting and ex-members of Parliament Assembly or Council, representing constituencies in Maharashtra .. 2% (8) Employees of the Authority .. 2% (9) State Government Servants and employees of the Statutory Boards, Corporations, etc. (except the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority) under the State Government including those who have already retired. .. 5% (10) Central Government Servants occupying Staff quarters and due for retirement within three years or those who have already retired. .. 2% (9) State Government Servants and employees of the Statutory Boards, Corporations, etc. (except the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority) under the State Government including those who have already retired. .. 5% (10) Central Government Servants occupying Staff quarters and due for retirement within three years or those who have already retired. .. 2% (11) Artists in Film, Television, Drama, Tamasha, or Radio and also all other persons engaged in performing arts, including painters, sculptors, craftsmen, musicians (both vocal and instrumental), dancers, poets, kawals or mimics .. 2% ... (3) In respect of every group of tenements or plots of vacant land in a lay out to be disposed off for the commercial use, the Authority shall reserve 20 per cent tenements or plots for the persons specified in categories (1), (1-a), (1-b) and (1-c) of the sub-rule (1) in the percentage shown against them and the same shall be disposed off by inviting tenders from the categories of the said person : Provided that, if sufficient number of applications are not received from the persons belonging to any of the categories, the same may, subject to approval of Government, be released for allotment for the person belonging to the general category.” Regulation 21-A and 21-B of the Regulations read as under:- “21A. Manner of allotment.- All commercial tenements shall be allotted in accordance with the provisions of this part. 21B. Allotment on the basis of outright sale. - (1) The commercial tenement shall be allotted on the basis of outright sale. (2) On payment of the whole of the amount of sale price and all other dues, if any, by all the allottees in building or a group of buildings in a Commercial Centre the building or the group of buildings shall be conveyed by the Authority to the co-operative society, the company or the Association, as the case may be, formed by the allottees thereof under a duly executed sale deed and the land beneath appurtenant thereto shall be given to such co-operative society, company or Association, as the case may be, on lease in accordance with the provisions of the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development (Disposal of Land) Rules, 1981, and subject to the terms and conditions specified in such a lease deed. (3) Until the building is so conveyed to a co-operative society or a company or an Association and the land underneath and appurtenant thereto is leased to it the same shall continue to be a "Authority premises" and the provisions of the Act and the Rules and Regulations made thereunder shall continue to apply in respect of all matters regulated by them.” Stipulation in clause 5 of the Government resolution dated 17 August 2002 which is in Marathi can be translated as under:- “10% of the shops from the commercial complexes erected by the local bodies like Municipal Corporation/Municipal Councils/Municipalities/Zilla Parishad and Panchayat Samitis and also the Government undertakings should be reserved for the purpose of co-operative societies of unemployed and such societies may not be insisted to purchase the shops and which should be leased out to them at a lesser rent than the rent in the market. 8. True it is that since MHADA is the State Government undertaking and in view of section 164 of the Act, the Government can issue instructions to it, as has been laid down in the matter of Ravi Development Vs. Shree Krishna Pratishthan and others; (2009) 7 SCC 462 . Even this Court in the matter of Mangesh Janardhan Mohite & Others Vs. State of Maharashtra & Others; 2002(3) ALL MR 660 has held that the State Government can give directions to MHADA under section 164 and even direct it to conduct an enquiry under section 165. 9. Seeking assistance from these provisions and the decisions, Mr. Darandale would submit that the State Government has the power under section 164 of the MHADA Act even requiring the MHADA to earmark certain reservations. It is therefore imperative to reproduce section 164 of the MHADA Act which reads as under:- “164. Power of State Government to give directions and instructions and to suspend resolutions and orders. (1) The State Government may from time to time issue such directions or instructions as it may think fit in regard to finances and conduct of business and affairs of the Authority or any Board and the Authority and such Board shall be bound to follow and act upon these directions or instructions. (1) The State Government may from time to time issue such directions or instructions as it may think fit in regard to finances and conduct of business and affairs of the Authority or any Board and the Authority and such Board shall be bound to follow and act upon these directions or instructions. (2) (a) Without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing provision, if the State Government is of opinion that the execution of any resolution or order of the Authority or of any Board is in contravention of, or in excess of, the powers conferred by or under this Act or any other law for the time being in force, or is likely to lead to abuse or misuse of or to cause waste of the Fund of the Authority, the State Government may, in the public interest, by order in writing, suspend the execution of such resolution or order. A copy of such order shall be sent forthwith by the State Government to the Authority and its Chief Executive Officer and the Board concerned and its Chief Officer.” Sub-section 1 of section 164 declares the right of the State Government to issue directions or instructions in regard to specific subjects, namely, finances, conduct of business and affairs of the authority or any board. Sub-section 2 gives power to the State Government to issue directions in respect of execution of any resolution or order of the authority or the board which according to it, is in contravention or in excess of the powers conferred upon such authority or the board, which according to the State Government would lead to abuse or misuse or cause waste of the fund and it can even cause suspension of the execution of the resolution or the order. 10. A plain reading of this provision, in our considered view, does not couch the State Government with a power to prescribe any reservation which could be beyond the purview of the Rules and the Regulations. It is only to the extent these Rules and Regulations prescribe for reservation that would be binding on MHADA. Consequently, the stipulation in clause no. 5 of the Government decision dated 17 August 2002, in our considered view, would not mandate MHADA to reserve 10% of the shops in the shopping complexes to be erected by it for the co-operative societies of unemployed. 11. Consequently, the stipulation in clause no. 5 of the Government decision dated 17 August 2002, in our considered view, would not mandate MHADA to reserve 10% of the shops in the shopping complexes to be erected by it for the co-operative societies of unemployed. 11. Rule 5 of the Rules clearly prescribes for the disposal of land by lease whereas rule 13 prescribes for reservation of tenements for specified categories of persons for residential use. There is apparently no provision in the Rules which would approve of any reservation for a society like petitioner in the commercial complex. 12. Again, even Regulation 21-A and 21-B contemplate allotment of commercial tenements by outright sale under the Rules and do not contemplate leasing of the commercial tenements. Therefore, the decision of the State Government to prescribe reservation de hors the provisions of the MHADA Act, Rules and Regulations has no sanctity in law and the petitioner cannot seek to enforce it. When in affidavit in reply, the respondents nos. 2 to 7 have specifically mentioned that reservation is not applicable to the commercial complexes, we cannot interfere. 13. The writ petition is dismissed. 14. Rule is discharged.