Lands reserved for public amenities in approved layouts must be free from encroachment and maintained for public use.

In brief

The question

1. Whether the respondents are legally required to remove encroachments from lands specifically earmarked for public amenities and common purposes in an approved layout

The court held

The Court held that common purpose areas and roads must be maintained according to the approved layout for public usage

It also directed

The High Court disposed of the writ petition with a direction to the Commissioner, Coimbatore Municipal Corporation (R1), to continue the enforcement action and ensure the total removal of encroachments from the OSR lands

However, it granted liberty to any persons claiming rights over the plots to submit their explanations and documents to the Commissioner, who must consider the same before taking a final decision on the enforcement action

No costs were awarded

01Facts

The petitioner filed a Writ of Mandamus seeking a direction for the removal of encroachments in the EVR Periyar Nagar Layout, Coimbatore, which was approved in 1979 (LP/R(CN).No.278/79)

p. 2

The layout, encompassing 5.17 acres, earmarked 10% of its total area for public amenities, specifically for a Children's Play Space (11 cents 224 sq. ft.), a Park (10 cents 252 sq. ft.), and a Public Purpose Site (28 cents 179 sq. ft.)

pp. 3-4

Following a complaint from the Tamil Nadu Reserve Site Sangam, the Coimbatore Municipal Corporation conducted a site inspection and confirmed that Respondents 4 to 9 had encroached upon the land earmarked for public purposes

p. 4

While industrial encroachments were subsequently removed or demolished, residential structures belonging to Respondents 6, 7, and 8 remained on the site

p. 6

02Issues

i.1. Whether the respondents are legally required to remove encroachments from lands specifically earmarked for public amenities and common purposes in an approved layout

p. 3

ii.2. Whether the regularisation of an individual plot or the sale of earmarked land can override the status of Open Space Reservation (OSR) land intended for public benefit

p. 3

03Law Applied

The Court relied on the statutory provisions of Section 128 of the Tamil Nadu Urban Local Bodies Act to facilitate encroachment eviction

p. 5

It emphasized the legal principle established by the Supreme Court in Association of Vasanth Apartment’s Owners v. V. Gopinath and Others (2023 INSC 123), which holds that the sale of OSR land is null and void and that such lands must be maintained exclusively for public purpose

p. 3

The Court further applied the principle that layout approval is distinct from plot regularisation, and earmarked public spaces must be utilized for the benefit of the local public as per the original approval

p. 3

Provisions in the judgment · 1 · Linked ones open on LawLens

Tamil Nadu Local Bodies Ombudsman Act, 2014 Section 128

04Reasoning

The Court observed that the status report filed by the Commissioner confirmed that the disputed land formed part of the mandatory 10% reservation for public amenities in the 1979 approved layout

p. 4

The Court reasoned that once land is earmarked for public usage (roads, parks, or play spaces) during layout approval, it cannot be diverted for private use or encroached upon

p. 7

It rejected the argument that securing an order of regularisation for a plot entitles a party to occupy OSR land, noting that public amenity areas are for the collective benefit of the residents

p. 3

Since the Corporation had already initiated the due process of law—including issuing notices under the Tamil Nadu Urban Local Bodies Act, conducting surveyor inspections, and holding inquiries—the Court found it imperative that these enforcement actions reach their logical conclusion to restore the land for its intended public use

pp. 5-7