A Panchayat cannot establish even a temporary office on a flood embankment without authorization.

Rongpur Gaon Panchayat and its President challenged the Assistant Settlement Officer’s order dated 22 July 2026 cancelling an occupation certificate issued on 3 February 2026 for 10 kathas of Government Khas land.

The Panchayat had erected a temporary office on the plot after seeking land for a permanent office; the Water Resources Department reported that the structures stood on a flood-protection dyke and had been built without its permission.

The State respondents stated that a proposal to allot a different parcel of Government Khas land to the Panchayat had been forwarded for consideration by the Sub-Divisional Land Advisory Committee and remained pending.

1. Whether the Assistant Settlement Officer’s cancellation of the occupation certificate should be set aside.

2. Whether the Court should direct allotment and demarcation of the subject plot, and sanction of funds for a permanent Panchayat office there.

The petition was brought under Article 226 of the Constitution of India.

It applies the principle that a public body cannot establish even a temporary office without competent authority’s permission on Government land that forms part of a flood-protection embankment, particularly where the construction may damage the embankment and endanger surrounding areas.

The Court found that the temporary office had been constructed on a dyke intended to protect greater Rongpur and adjoining areas from flooding, without Water Resources Department permission, and that the structures posed a potential risk to the dyke and nearby areas.

In those circumstances, the Panchayat’s occupation certificate did not justify continued occupation, and the Court found no basis to interfere with its cancellation or to direct allotment of the subject plot. The Panchayat was instead required to await the pending proposal for allotment of another parcel.

The State respondents were directed to remove the unauthorized structures from the embankment if the petitioners did not remove them within one month.