Tyre Unit Set Up Before Homes: Madras HC Rejects Relocation Plea, Citing Consent Valid Through 2028

The petitioner sought a mandamus directing the sixth respondent to shift its tyre-retreading unit from R.K. Nagar, Kanjanayakkanpatti Village, to a non-residential area.

He alleged that the unit caused odour, emissions, and health hazards in a locality that had become predominantly residential, and that it operated beyond permitted capacity and at night.

The sixth respondent’s unit had operated since 2017. The petitioner acknowledged that there were no nearby residences when the unit was established; the area developed residentially later.

The Pollution Control Board submitted that the unit had obtained the required permissions and that its renewed consent remained valid until 31 March 2028.

The judgment identifies no specific statutory provision, precedent, or general legal doctrine as the basis for its decision.

The Court considered that the unit had been established after obtaining the requisite permissions, had received Pollution Control Board consent following inspection, and held renewed consent valid until 31 March 2028.

It applied those circumstances in deciding whether the requested mandamus to shift the unit could be granted.

The Court noted that the unit had operated since 2017 with the requisite permissions and that the petitioner admitted the surrounding area became residential only after the unit’s establishment.

The Board had inspected the unit and renewed its consent, which remained valid. In those circumstances, the Court held that the requested direction to shift the unit could not be granted in this writ petition.

It made no order as to costs and closed the connected miscellaneous petition.