New Delhi, February 4
The Supreme Court has stayed the allotment of plots to some multinational companies in Mohali for setting up industrial focal points as announced by the Punjab Government in its December 2003 advertisement, following a petition by some “allottees” claiming that the land was allotted to them a year ago in the draw of lots for residential purposes.
Several allottees of residential plots, led by Jasbir Singh Chhabra, had moved the Supreme Court yesterday after the Punjab and Haryana High Court had refused them the relief of allotting the plots in spite of allowing their petition challenging the Punjab Government’s policy of altering the land use after the draw of lots in their favour on October 8, 2002, and reserving it only for industrial purposes.
Taking cognisance of the special leave petition (SLP) of allottees, a Bench of Mr
Justice S B Sinha and Mr Justice P K Balasubramanyan directed the Punjab Government not to make any allotment in favour of the multinational companies till further order, while issuing notices to it.
The notices were issued to state government’s Department of Industries and Punjab Small Industries and Export Corporation (PSIEC) with the direction that they should submit their replies to the special leave petition (SLP) by Chhabra and other allottees within four weeks.
Senior advocate Fali S Nariman, appearing for the petitioners along with their counsel Jasbir Singh Malik, submitted that the High Court, in its September 23, 2005, order, had allowed their petition and set aside a memo of Secretary Industries, Punjab, issued to the MD of the PSIEC for changing of the land-use plan and asked him to withdraw the scheme for allotment of plots under the housing scheme. But the High Court refused to issue the direction for allotting the plots to those persons in whose names the lots were drawn on October 8, 2002.
“The intention behind the change the policy by the government was to help some multinational companies,” Nariman said, drawing the attention of the apex court to the earlier policy pf 2001, under which the plot of land acquired for industrial focal points in Phases 8-A and 8-B of Mohali, 20 to 30 per cent area was reserved only for housing colonies.
It was in pursuant to this policy, the government had issued advertisement on July 21, 2002, for allotment of 138 “freehold” residential plots in Phases 8-A and 8-B for which the lots were subsequently drawn on October 8, 2002, the petitioner’s counsel said, adding the sudden change in the land-use plan was done “arbitrarily with a mala fide intention” to deny them the promised plots and give them to some multinational companies.
Though the government had held draws of the housing plots in Mohali, along with those in Patiala, Ludhiana and some other cities under a consolidated allotment policy, only allottees of Mohali plots, numbering 280 were denied the land even as their earnest money to the tune of Rs 4 crore remained deposited with the PSIEC, the SLP said.
