IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA CWJC No.14996 of 2010 1. GRAM VIKAS SAMITI YAJUAR THROUGH ITS SCRETARY AMARESH THAKUR S/O SURYA NARAIN THAKUR R/O VILL YAJUAR, P.O.YAJUAR, P.S.KATRA, DISTT-MUZAFFARPUR(BIHAR) .....Petitioner Versus 1. THE STATE OF BIHAR THROUGH CHIEF SECRETARY GOVT. OF BIHAR, PATNA 2. DIRECTOR, PANCHAYATI RAJ NEW SECRETARIAT, BAILEY ROAD, PATNA-1, BIHAR 3. COMMISSIONER, TRIHUT DIVISION (PRAMANDAL) MUZAFFARPUR, BIHAR 4. DISTRICT MAGISTRATE MUZAFFARPUR (EAST), BIHAR 5. SUB-DIVISIONAL OFFICER MUZAFFARPUR, BIHAR 6. BLOCK DEVELOPMENT OFFICER KATRA BLOCK, MUZAFFARPUR, BIHAR 7. MUKHIYA GRAM PANCHAYAT YAJUAR (MADHYA), BLOCK-KATRA, MUZAFFARPUR, BIHAR 8. MUKHIYA GRAM PANCHAYAT YAJUAR (WEST), BLOCK-KATRA, MUZAFFARPUR, BIHAR 9. PANCHAYAT SACHIV, GRAM PANCHAYAT YAJUAR (MADHYA), BLOCK- KATRA, MUZAFFARPUR, BIHAR 10. PANCHAYAT SACHIV, GRAM PANCHAYAT YAJUAR (MADHYA), BLOCK-KATRA, MUZAFFARPUR, BIHAR .......Respondents ----------- For the Petitioner: Mr. Amaresh Tkahur in person For the State: Mr. Ajay Bihari Sinha, SC 19 Mr. Pankaj Kumar Singh, AC to SC 19 --------- 8 28-01-2011 Heard the petitioner through its Secretary, Mr. Amresh Thakur who has appeared in person and learned counsel for the State. Petitioner has preferred this writ petition as a Public Interest Litigation. He wants a direction from this court that Mukhiyas of different Gram Panchayats should utilize the Panchayat buildings for running and managing the affairs of Gram Panchayats and same should not be conducted at other places such as 2 residences of Mukhiyas. In particular, a grievance was raised against Mukhiyas of Gram Panchayat Yajuar (Madhya) and Yajuar (West) in the district of Muzaffarpur that they have allowed the Panchayat Bhavans to be misused and those Bhavans are being used as fodder stores instead of working as the office or work place of the Panchayat. By an earlier order dated 29th November, 2010 the District Magistrate, Muzaffarpur was directed to ensure that the Panchayat Bhavan is cleared of fodder or any other items and is made functional. The court has also observed that if the Mukhiyas are adamant and refuse to run the Panchayat from its official place, the District Magistrate will make a report to the State Government under the relevant provision of the Bihar Panchayat Raj Act, 2006. Learned counsel for the State has informed this court that the Panchayat Bhavan has been cleared as mentioned in paragraph 3 of the counter affidavit and can be used as the official place to run the concerned Panchayat by the Panchayat Secretary and the Mukhiya. 3 This court wanted to know the stand of the State as to whether all the Gram Panchayats should use the Panchayat Bhavans only as their official place. On instructions learned counsel submits that for 8463 Panchayats in the State, Panchayat buildings are available at 5624 places and in respect of remaining 2839 places there are no Panchayat buildings at present but there has been no complaint regarding inconvenience on account of lack of Panchayat buildings. In this Public Interest Litigation the emphasis is not for providing Panchayat buildings to all Gram Panchayats rather, the prayer is that Panchayat Bhavans already available with the Gram Panchayats must be used as official place for conducting business of Gram Panchayats by Panchayat Secretary and Mukhiya. The stand of the State does not run counter to the prayer of the petitioner and hence, we have no difficulty in disposing of this writ petition by allowing the prayer of the petitioner. So far as the particular Panchayat is concerned, now when the Bhavan has been cleared of fodder or other materials, the Panchayat Secretaries and 4 Mukhiyas of these two Panchayats should run the Panchayat from Panchayat Bhavan and this should be ensured by the concerned officials including the District Magistrate. It would be in the general public interest that in other Gram Panchayats, wherever Panchayat Bhavan is available, the official work of the Panchayat be run and managed in the Panchayat Bhavan. We order accordingly. This writ petition is disposed of. BKS/- (Shiva Kirti Singh, J.) (Dr. Ravi Ranjan, J.)