Yellow Zone - Dhantoli, Congress Nagar turning commercial? HC seeks answers from NMC, State

 

 

A writ petition has been filed before the Bombay High Court, Nagpur Bench, raising strong exception to the rampant and arbitrary change of land use happening in Dhantoli and Congress Nagar. These centrally-located residential localities are officially demarcated as Yellow Zones under the Development Plan of Nagpur. However, over the years, a large number of commercial establishments - particularly hospitals, medical centres and other high crowd-attracting units - have come up in these areas. According to the petitioner, this commercialisation is not only illegal, but is also seriously affecting the peaceful and safe environment of the residents.

 

The matter was heard on Monday. Justice Anil Kilor and Justice Rajnish Vyas issued notices to the respondents and sought their reply. The petition has been filed by Swanand Laxman Soni (49), resident of West Park Road, Dhantoli and President of Dhantoli Nagrik Mandal. He has submitted that he has been compelled to approach the court due to continuous violations of zoning laws and town planning norms in Dhantoli and Congress Nagar. The respondents named in the petition are: Nagpur Municipal Corporation; State Urban Development & Planning Department; Collector, Nagpur and Nagpur Improvement Trust (NIT) The petitioner says that, this earlier court remark was made, but the court had not clearly checked whether hospitals are actually allowed in residential areas at that time. Still, based on that one observation, dozens of hospitals were sanctioned over the years.

 

 

As a result, the situation in Dhantoli and Congress Nagar has become chaotic. Narrow internal roads are overloaded. Parking on streets is out of control. Vehicular movement throughout the day and night has increased beyond the capacity of the residential layout. The petition states that these conditions are directly affecting the fundamental rights of residents under Article 19 and Article 21 of the Constitution - right to free movement and right to peaceful, safe environment. The petitioner has requested the court to halt any fresh sanctions for hospitals, medical establishments, nursing homes and other high crowd-attracting units in these two areas. It has also been demanded that sanctions already granted - but where commencement or occupancy certificate is not yet issued - should be reviewed based on carrying capacity. Adv Ashwin Deshpande represented the petitioner.

 

 

According to the petition, the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act, 1966 (MRTP Act) clearly defines what kind of development can be permitted, and also provides punishment under Section 52 for any unauthorised development or unauthorised change of land use. Similarly, the Development Control Regulations, and now, the Unified Development Control & Promotion Regulations, 2020 (UDCPR), lay down specific norms for residential, commercial and institutional zones. However, the petition claims that Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) has been granting sanctions for hospitals and other commercial establishments in these residential zones without following proper process, and only on the basis of an old court observation made in ‘Vinayak vs City of Nagpur Corporation’ (2002).