BENGALURU: A landowner is entitled to transferable development rights (TDR) for land relinquished for widening an existing comprehensive development plan (CDP) road outside or on the periphery of a layout, the high court observed in a recent judgement.
Allowing a petition filed by CNC Mangalore-Kavoor Project Pvt Ltd, Justice Suraj Govindaraj ruled that authorities can use land owned by private individuals only by way of acquisition under Section 69 of the Karnataka Town and Country Planning (KTCP) Act, 1961.
In its petition, the Hyderabad-based company said it owned about 19 acres in Kavoor, Mangaluru taluk. On January 19, 2022, the Mangalore Urban Development Authority (MUDA) had sanctioned a layout plan submit ted by the company.
The petitioner was told to relinquish internal roads, parks and civic amenities and a portion of land on the east and west sides to widen an existing 18-metre road. The petitioner complied.
On February 5, 2023, MUDA issued an endorsement refusing to grant TDR for land relinquished to widen the existing road, contending that there is no provision to issue TDR in view of Section 14B (20) of the KTCP Act.
Challenging this, the company argued that the re linquishment deed was executed in the belief that TDR would be issued under CDP and zonal regulations for land used to widen the road. The company conceded that TDR cannot be claimed for internal roads it relinquished. But MUDA insisted that surrender of such land free of cost is a prerequisite to grant a sanction plan.
However, after perusing the provisions of KTCP Act, Justice Govindaraj ruled against MUDA. The judge noted that Section 14B(20) of KTCP Act does not deal with widening an existing road outside the layout, but only pertains to areas earmarked within the layout for roads, parks, common open spaces and civic amenities.
The judge also directed MUDA to issue necessary recommendation/consent for TDR in respect of the petitioner’s land used to widen the existing road.