1 lgc IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION WRIT PETITION NO. 5745 OF 2009 Mira Bhyandar Builders and Developers Welfare Association : Petitioners versus The Deputy Collector and Competent Authority Thane Urban Agglomeration and ors. : Respondents. Mr.Sandesh Patil for the Petitioners Mr. C R Sonanwane, AGP, for Respondent Nos.1 to 4. CORAM : S B MHASE & R M SAVANT, JJ. DATE : 27th August 2009 P.C. 1. The above Petition is filed on behalf of the members of the Petitioner Association. The members of the Petitioner Association who are the builders and developers have taken benefit of the schemes meant for the Economically Weaker Section of the society under Section 20 of the Urban Land (Ceiling and Regulation) Act, 1976 [hereinafter referred to as “the said Act” for short]. The said Act was repealed by the Urban Land (Ceiling and Regulation) Repeal Act, 1999 which came into force in the State of Maharashtra on 29-11-2007. Since a large number of schemes were sanctioned under Section 20 of the said Act, the State 2 Government, with a view to see that the schemes are fully implemented, if partly implemented, after the repeal of the said Act, issued a letter dated 23-06-2008 to the Sub-Registrar of Assurances, Thane City directing him to ascertain at the time when the scheme holder presents a document for registration, whether the scheme holder has sought for extension for implementation of the scheme or not; as otherwise not to register the documents in question. 2. It is the said letter dated23-06-2008, which is impugned in the present Petition. The principal ground on which the said letter is assailed is that such a condition cannot be imposed by the Registering Authority and that the registration cannot be refused on the said ground. 3. On the other hand it is contended on behalf of the State by the learned AGP that on the repeal of the said Act, the scheme holders who may be builders/developers are trying to wriggle out of their obligations under the said sanctioned schemes, and therefore the impugned letter came to be issued which has been issued to protect the schemes meant for the Economically Weaker Section, and also the Government revenue. 3 4. We have considered the rival contentions. In our view, if the members of the Petitioners Association have taken benefit of the schemes under Section 20 of the said Act by constructing buildings, they now cannot wriggle out of their obligations to surrender flats to the Government which the Government could sell at a fixed rate. The entire tenor of the above Petition appears to be that the Petitioners do not want to fulfil their obligations under the said schemes viz surrendering the flats to the State Government and taking advantage of the repeal of the said Act want to contend that their obligations under the said schemes do not survive. In our view the impugned letter, as rightly contended by the learned AGP, has been issued to protect the public interest and Government revenue. It does not befit the Petitioners who have taken advantage of the said schemes now to contend that their obligations do not survive, and therefore there is no need for them to surrender the flats to the Government. We, therefore, do not find any merit in the challenge raised in the above Petition which is accordingly dismissed. [R.M.SAVANT, J] [S.B.MHASE, J]