A PIL sought to stop construction of an overhead water tank on land recorded as a cremation ground in Maharajganj. With 90% work complete, no alternative village land available, and village majority in favour, the Court held the drinking-water purpose outweighed the cremation-ground purpose and declined to entertain the petition.
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Neutral Citation No. - 2024:AHC:115458
Court No. - 50
Case :- PUBLIC INTEREST LITIGATION (PIL) No. - 1052 of 2024
Petitioner :- Mahatam Gupta Respondent :- State Of U.P. And 4 Others Counsel for Petitioner :- Piyush Patel,Pradeep Kumar Counsel for Respondent :- C.S.C.,Sudhir Bharti
Hon'ble Ashutosh Srivastava,J.
Heard Sri Pradeep Kumar, learned counsel for the petitioner, learned Standing Counsel for the State Respondents and Sri Sudhir Bharti, learned counsel, who has accepted notice on behalf of the Respondent No. 5, the Land Management Committee.
The instant writ petition styled as a Public Interest Litigation has been filed seeking issuance of a Writ of Mandamus commanding the Respondent Nos. 2 to 4 to restrain the Respondent No. 5, the Land Management Committee, Village Rampur Chakiya, Tappa Uti, Pargana Haveli, Tehsil Sadar, District Maharajganj, from constructing Overhead Water Tank over the Gata No. 353 area 0.2180 hectare recorded as cremation ground in the revenue records.
This Court being prima-facie of the opinion that the cremation ground could not be utilized for construction of the Overhead Water Tank required the learned Standing Counsel appearing for the State Respondents to obtain instructions in the matter.
Instructions from the Office of the Sub Divisional Officer, Sadar, District Maharajganj, have been received which are taken on record.
A perusal of the instructions received it is borne out that there is no dispute that the Gata No. 353 area 0.2180 hectare is recorded as cremation ground. There is another Gata No. 870 area 0.291 hectare forming part of Khata No. 00571 which is recorded as cremation ground. An area of 0.065 hectares of the Gata No. 353 area 0.218 hectare is being utilized for construction of the Overhead Water Tank in the absence of any other suitable land of the village being available with the Land Management Committee under the Jal Jeewan Mission Scheme of the Government to
provide clean drinking water to the villagers.
Learned Standing Counsel appearing for the State Respondents submits that the Overhead Water Tank is being constructed for the benefit of the villagers. The remaining area of the Gata No. 353 is still being utilized for the purposes of the cremation ground. Learned Standing Counsel on the basis of the instructions so received further submits that 90% of the work of the construction of the Overhead Water Tank has already been completed and majority of the population of the village are in favour of the construction of the Overhead Water Tank. It is, accordingly, submitted that the present Public Interest Litigation need not be entertained.
Learned counsel for the petitioner is unable to controvert the submissions of the learned Standing Counsel.
Learned counsel for the petitioner has reiterated that the land of the cremation ground cannot be utilized for construction of the Overhead Water Tank and submits that the Public Interest Litigation is liable to be allowed as prayed.
I have heard the learned counsels for the parties and have considered the rival submissions and have also perused the materials on record.
In the opinion of the Court, considering the totality of the circumstances, the stand of the State Respondents and taking note of the fact that 90% of the work of the construction of the Overhead Water Tank has been completed, it would not be in the best interest of the villagers to stop the construction of the Overhead Water Tank and direct for its relocation to some other plot. It is pertinent to note here that the Respondents have indicated in the instructions that there exists no other suitable land for constructing the Overhead Water Tank. The public purpose of a cremation ground in the peculiar set of facts must give way to the larger public purpose of providing clean drinking water to the residents of the village by constructing the Overhead Water Tank.
In view of the above, the Court is not inclined to entertain the instant Public Interest Litigation and the same is, accordingly, consigned to records.
Order Date :- 19.7.2024 pks
Digitally signed by :- PAWAN KUMAR SINGH High Court of Judicature at Allahabad
2 issues framed by the court
Whether a cremation ground (Gata No. 353) can be used by the Land Management Committee for constructing an overhead water tank under the Jal Jeewan Mission Scheme.
Whether the PIL seeking to restrain construction of the overhead water tank should be entertained.
Mahatam Gupta
State Of U.P.
Land Management Committee, Village Rampur Chakiya (Respondent No. 5)
Ashutosh Srivastava
As recorded by the court registry
3 orders share this CNR
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