NAGPUR: The Nagpur Improvement Trust (NIT) on Monday defended its decision to issue regularisation letters to private plot owners in a disputed Gunthewari layout. The civic planning body informed the Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court that it had followed legal provisions and previous court orders, contrary to the claims made by the Chinchmalatpure Nagar Nagrik Kruti Samiti.
NIT clarified that the open space requirements under the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning (MRTP) Act were not applicable in this case, as the layout was regularised under the Gunthewari Act, 2001. The petitioner has challenged the regularisation of five plots in Raghvendra Griha Nirman Sahakari Sanstha, Mouza Manewada, where construction activities had already begun.
In its affidavit, NIT stated that it had previously submitted a factual clarification on September 27, 2023. It also pointed out that the petitioner was fully aware of earlier orders passed in Public Interest Litigation (PIL) No. 80/2017, in which the court upheld the individual rights of private plot holders.
Following a government notification dated March 1, 2021, NIT’s general manager approved the regularisation of the five plots on December 13, 2022, under the amended Gunthewari Act, the NIT submitted.
The petitioner highlighted that the high court had overturned previous rejections issued by NIT’s executive engineer (South) in five separate writ petitions. Even though the NIT later filed review applications citing PIL No. 80/2017, the court dismissed them on April 21, 2023.
NIT further noted that members of the Samiti had benefited from the Gunthewari Act in the past but were now opposing the regularisation of other plots. It reiterated that Regulation 3.4.1 of the Unified Development Control and Promotion Regulations (UDCPR)-2020 regarding open space requirements does not apply to Gunthewari layouts.
Referring to the January 22, 2024, order by the former NIT chairman rejecting regularisation, the trust argued that the order contradicted directions issued by the court. It added that regularisation letters were issued only after the Division Bench’s directions on December 19, 2023, in related contempt petitions.
NIT has sought dismissal of the petition, asserting that previous court rulings had already resolved the factual and legal issues involved in the matter.
