The Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court has nullified an order by Maharashtra’s Chief Minister and Urban Development Minister Eknath Shinde, which had halted the auction process for blocks under the jurisdiction of Wani Municipal Council in Yavatmal district. During its review, the court observed that the order lacked a clear rationale for suspending the auction. Furthermore, the court directed the Wani Municipal Council to complete the auction process and submit a compliance report by December 16.
Illegal Occupation:
The case was heard before Justice Nitin Sambre and Justice Vrushali Joshi. The public interest litigation (PIL) was filed by Pandurang Tonge from Wani. According to the petition, Tonge had previously filed a petition in 2014, alleging that certain traders had illegally occupied 160 blocks under the council’s authority. The court had then instructed the Divisional Commissioner of Amravati and the District Collector of Yavatmal to resolve the matter within six weeks after receiving representations from the petitioner.
Auction Process Halted:
On November 6, 2014, the District Collector had directed the municipal town planning department to assess and auction these blocks. However, on December 19, 2014, certain occupiers of these blocks challenged the order by approaching the then-Minister for Urban Development. On March 6, 2019, the state minister ordered the immediate clearance of these blocks, initiating their allocation through an e-tendering process. This decision was subsequently contested in the High Court by block holders at Gandhi Chowk but was later withdrawn when no relief was granted by the court.
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Saturday 23 Nov. 2024
According to the petitioner, MLA Rajkumar Patel of Melghat and businessman Nankaram Nebhani intervened to halt the auction process based on suggestions from Minister Shinde. However, the petitioner argued that they had no authority to do so. During Wednesday’s hearing, the court issued its order, with Advocate Mohit Khajanchi representing the petitioner and Advocate Mahesh Dhatrak representing the Wani Municipal Council.
