The Punjab and Haryana high court on Wednesday put stay on finalisation of the Haryana government's draft development plan-2031 for the controlled areas within and outside the Faridabad municipal corporation, which allegedly are in total disregard to the National Capital Regional (NCR) plan-2021 notified by the National Capital Regional Planning Board (NCRPB).
The petition filed by Sanjeev Malhotra and three other Faridabad residents came up for hearing before the division bench comprising justice Surya Kant and justice Jaspal Singh on which the notice of motion was issued to the Haryana government for filing its reply before September 16.
The court also directed the state government authorities to "produce the records regarding approval, if any, granted by the NCRPB to the impugned draft development plans". Speaking for the bench, justice Surya Kant ordered, "Meanwhile, publication of final development plans shall remain stayed. No licence, permission or any right shall be created in favour of any person pursuant to the draft or final development plans."
The petitioners had submitted that since the Haryana government was a participating state in the NCR plan-2021, it was competent to formulate only the sub-regional plan that must be consistent with the NCR plan-2021 and must be approved by the NCRPB.
Appearing for the petitioners, senior advocate Ashok Aggarwal, who is also advocate general of Punjab, argued that the draft development plan has been published in 'clandestine manner' so that the general public is deprived of its valuable right to submit statutory objections. He submitted that the draft development plans published on July 14 and July 18 were not published in any newspaper except in the state government gazette and had been uploaded first time on the website of the department concerned on August 11. It is mentioned in the draft development plans that objections could be submitted within 30 days only, added Aggarwal.
{{/usCountry}}Appearing for the petitioners, senior advocate Ashok Aggarwal, who is also advocate general of Punjab, argued that the draft development plan has been published in 'clandestine manner' so that the general public is deprived of its valuable right to submit statutory objections. He submitted that the draft development plans published on July 14 and July 18 were not published in any newspaper except in the state government gazette and had been uploaded first time on the website of the department concerned on August 11. It is mentioned in the draft development plans that objections could be submitted within 30 days only, added Aggarwal.
{{/usCountry}}The court was informed that petitioners got a reliable information that before the declaration of the elections in the state by the election commission, the state government authorities were in a mad rush to notify the final development plan on the basis of the draft development plan notified on July 18 for Faridabad only "with the malafide intention to accommodate certain number of builders, politicians and land mafias".
The petitioners had requested the court to refrain the state government authorities from granting licence or change of land use permission to the builders.