Appropriately Sanctioned Work Order Can't Be Cancelled Due To Slackness Of Executing Agency, Can't Make Residents Suffer: Bombay High Court

A division bench of Chief Justice Devendra Upadhyaya and Justice Arif Doctor struck down two Government Resolutions (GRs) dated July 27, 2023 and August 22, 2023 to the extent of those works in other constituencies for which work orders have not yet been issued.

“If a work is duly and appropriately sanctioned and on account of any slackness or indifferent approach of the executing agency, the work could not be started or commenced, cancellation of such work leads to depriving the residents of a particular municipality of the public amenities. For such a lackadaisical approach in commencement of the work by the executing agency, the residents of the municipalities cannot be penalised”, the court observed.

The court clarified that work orders for other constituencies already issued as per the impugned GRs shall remain unaffected. However, it directed the state to execute the originally sanctioned works for Kasba in the upcoming financial year.

The impugned GRs issued by the Urban Development Department of the State Government were corrigenda amending two earlier GRs dated October 4, 2022 and December 20, 2022. Kasba MLA Ravindra Hemraj Dhangekar challenged the GRs in the present PIL. The petitioner contended that the amendments are arbitrary, as they cancel previously sanctioned works without valid reasons, violating the principle of equality under the law.

Earlier GRs

By the October 2022 GR, the State Government had sanctioned Rs. 5 crores for execution of 24 works to be executed in Kasba Legislative Constituency. By the December 2022 GR, sanction was given to certain works within the territories of the Pune Municipal Corporation and amongst these, several works were to be executed within Kasba Constituency.

These GRs were issued as per the state's “Development of Basic Amenities in Municipal Areas” scheme. The scheme includes works relating to water supply and sewerage, urban roads and their adjacent drains, street lights, footpaths, social hall, community temple, etc., construction of easy toilets/urinals, general works such as lighting for public use in slums, conversion of open spaces into parks, protection of historical buildings, garden arrangement, development of cemeteries and green belts etc.

Impugned GRs

The impugned GR of July 2023 provided that if work orders in respect of the works sanctioned under the December 2022 GR have not been issued, the sanction to such works shall stand cancelled and instead of these works, the works mentioned in the impugned GR for Parvati Assembly Constituency shall be executed.

Similarly, the other impugned GR dated August 22, 2023 provided that if the works sanctioned under the October 2022 GR had not commenced by issuing work order, they shall stand cancelled, and 50 new works, mentioned in the impugned GR shall be executed. By this impugned GR, all 24 works in Kasba Legislative Constituency were substituted by 50 works in Shivajinagar Legislative Constituency.

Verdict

From the averments made in the State's reply affidavit, the court noted that the only reason for cancellation of the earlier works was non-commencement of the works sanctioned under the earlier GRs.

“There may be situations which may warrant cancellation of the earlier sanctioned works such as need of execution of more pressing work in any area or some irregularities or illegalities found in sanctioning the earlier works or some other overriding public interest, however, in absence of any such reason, cancellation of the works sanctioned earlier, which are to be undertaken for strengthening the public amenities, will be absolutely arbitrary”, the court held.

The state failed to establish any overwhelming public interest or any other legally sustainable ground for issuing the impugned GRs, the court concluded. The court held that the cancellation of sanctioned works without valid reasons deprived residents of basic civic amenities, and was arbitrary and violative of Article 14 of the Constitution.

The court directed the state government to allocate funds for Kasba as per the October 2022 GR.

Case no. – Public Interest Litigation No. 7 of 2024

Case Title – Ravindra Hemraj Dhangekar v. District Collector, Pune District and Ors.