THE HON’BLE SRI JUSTICE C.V. RAMULU W.P. No. 2103 of 2005 O R D E R: This writ petition is filed seeking Mandamus directing respondents to permit conversion of land use from Industrial to Commercial, belonging to M/s. Laxmi Starch Limited, Nacharam, Hyderabad, to enable the Official Liquidator, High Court of Kerala to sell away the same for settling the liabilities of the Company in C.P. No. 34 of 1998. Petitioner is the Ex-Chairman of M/s. Laxmi Starch Limited, Nacharam, Hyderabad. It appears, the said company has purchased Ac.40.00 acres of land in Nacharam Industrial area from the Government of A.P. under Sale deed Numbers 24/1968 and 2470/1968, registered with Hyderabad sub-registry. The said sale deeds were executed by the Government of A.P. in favour of petitioner- company. Under the said sale deeds, land was sold for setting up a factory by the vendee company. The company was set up and it had run successfully for more than three decades. The company had also constructed residential quarters for its employees at a different land which is very close to the factory. However, due to mounted up losses the company could not pay various amounts like sales tax, bank loans, workers’ terminal benefits, NALA tax etc. which run into crores of rupees. After the Liquidator was appointed, he sold away the land pertaining to the staff colony, for an amount of Rs.4.23 Crores. In order to settle various liabilities of the company as mentioned above, it is necessary that the factory land to an extent of Ac.40.00 needs to be sold and unless the use of the said land is converted to commercial from industrial, the land will not fetch reasonable price and it is not possible to decide the liabilities of the company. There is no demand for setting up new industries on a vast land of Ac.40.00 acres at Nacharam Industrial area due to various reasons like pollution, the area not being declared as backward offering several benefits, stagnation of industrial growth in the said locality etc. Several small units have been closed down at Nacharam and residential colonies have come up in large number. Hence, there is no possibility of any new industry being set up by purchasing Ac.40.00 of land by any other entrepreneur. Even the Government and other authorities may not permit setting up of any industry in view of pollution etc. Therefore, if the subject land is converted for commercial purpose, it would attract good sale price which would ultimately result in settling the amounts of the State Government, Banks, Workers etc. Once the land is converted into commercial, the same can be made into small plots and can be conveniently sold to several parties at good price. The Official Liquidator has already been permitted by the High Court of Kerala to seek change of user of the land and accordingly he represented to the respondents herein seeking their permission vide his letter dated 15.9.2003 for change of the land use. This was followed up by paying necessary fee to HUDA, filing of all the documents pertaining to the property of the Company and also replying various queries raised by the authorities. The entire land at Nacharam, IDA belongs to APIIC, the same being transferred by the State Government to the APIIC after it was formed and the said Corporation is having policy to permit the conversion of the land use from industrial to commercial on fulfillment of certain conditions. There was no option except to make application to the High Court of Kerala seeking its permission to move this Court against the respondents for change of land use. The said application filed before the Kerala High Court was ordered on 13.12.2004. therefore, this writ petition. It is the case of the petitioner that in spite of filing several representations, there is no response from the respondents herein. 2nd respondent filed detailed counter denying the allegations made by the petitioner. It is stated that he had informed the petitioner vide Letter No.10507/MP-1/HUDA/03 dated 29.12.2003 stating that under Section 14(2) of the A.P. Urban Areas Act, 1975 the verification of ULC & ownership aspect is compulsory before issue of permissions and asked the petitioner to submit the following: 1. No objection certificate from the Collector for change of land use as there is a condition in the sale deed executed by the Government regarding land use. 2. No objection certificate from the Special Office, ULD as the petitioner’s land is more than the limits prescribed for peripheral area. 3. No objection from APIIC Ltd. However, petitioner failed to submit the above said documents before him. Therefore, he informed the Principal Secretary to the Government, M.A. & U.D. Department vide its letter No. 10507/MP-1/HUDA/PLG/03 dated 15.3.2004 that the change of land use request may not be considered and the Government has requested to close the case at that stage. Respondent No.6 also filed counter, wherein it is stated that the APIIC Limited vide their Lr.No.38/LW/APIIC/2003 dated 20.2.2005 addressed to the Official Liquidator, under copy marked to this office, has informed that the APIIC has decided not to consider the request of the Official Liquidator for granting NOC for conversion of land use from commercial to commercial-cum-residential use in order to protect the scarce and valuable industrial land and also to sub-serve public interest in the matter. Respondent No.3 also filed counter denying the allegations made by the petitioner. Further, at paragraph 6, it is stated as follows: “The Corporation re-examined the matter and Government also issued instructions not to consider requests for conversion of land in the industrial areas from industrial use into residential or commercial in view of the public interest. As such, the Corporation withdrew the circular guidelines dated 12.12.2001 and such requests are not being considered by the Corporation since long time. The land allotted to the company is earmarked for industrial use as per the Zonal Development Plan and there is good demand for scarce industrial land in Hyderabad and its peripheries. The lands allotted for industrial purposes are meant to attain the larger objective of socio-economic development by creation of employment, revenue etc. I submit that if conversion proposals are considered, several problems would arose for the existence industries. As per the conditions of allotment and agreements, the company has to surrender possession of the lands to the Corporation (who is the successor body of Government under G.O.Ms.No.1162 I & C Department, dated 4.12.73) as and when it does not require the land for industrial purpose. The land can be utilized by allotment to a needy entrepreneur for industrial purposes. In view of this, the Corporation filed Company application in C.P. No. 34 of 98 in the Hon’ble High Court of Kerala for grant of leave u/s 446 of the Companies Act for cancellation of allotment of the land and consequent steps for resumption of the land so as to allot the same for industrial purposes to needy entrepreneurs. The application of the Corporation is pending”. Learned counsel for the petitioner submitted that the petitioner is asked to go from one department to another department of the Government or the Corporations for getting No-Objection Certificate for the purpose of change of land use. Further, it is interesting to notice that in C.P. No. 34 of 1998 before the High Court of Kerala, the APIIC got itself impleaded and filed C.A. No. 216 of 2005 stating that the land must be returned to the APIIC and that plea was negated by order dated 10.4.2007. Now, the Official Liquidator is appointed and unless and until the use of the land is not changed and sold out, the obligations on the part of the Industry cannot be discharged. Therefore, petitioner sought the present relief. Heard both sides. It appears, no authority has considered the matter in detail. Respondents have filed individual counters by addressing the problem in their own way, but, there was no comprehensive approach made by the Government in this regard. What exactly is the obligation of the petitioner-company as of today and whether that obligation cannot be discharged unless and until the land is sold after getting the change of use of land etc. needs to be examined by the Government in detail. Therefore, the petitioner/official liquidator is directed to file detailed representation before 1st respondent under Section 12 of the A.P. Urban Areas Development Act within eight weeks from today. On filing such application, the Government shall call for reports from all the concerned departments and hear them if necessary and pass appropriate orders as per law, within three months thereafter. The writ petition is accordingly disposed of. No order as to costs. JUSTICE C.V. RAMULU. Date: 1-10-2010. MVB.