Case: Ramji Patel  Vs. Nagrik Upbhokta Marg Darshak Manch

The Madhya Pradesh High Court, in a Public Interest Litigation, instituted under Article 226 of the Constitution, has directed, by the impugned judgment dated 16.12.1996, that the dairies, located on the outskirts of the Jabalpur City, be shifted from their present location to the alternative sites. This judgment was passed in the writ Petition in which the following reliefs were claimedto direct the respondents to take appropriate, effective and immediate steps to remove the Cow/Buffalo dung and urine from the pipe line of water filtration plant at Lalpur, Gwarighat;(b) direct the respondents to ensure that in future also no storage of Cow/Buffalo dung and urine of animals may be done on the water supply pipe line of Lalpur, Gwarighat as stated in the body of the petition;(c) direct the respondents to take appropriate steps against the persons who have stored these hazardous materials on the water supply pipe lines;(d) Any other order/orders, writ/writs or direction/directions that this Honble Court may deem fit and proper, may also kindly be given.The principal ground on which the petition was founded was that the main water pipelines, which supplied water, after its filtration at Lalpur Filtration Plant, to the Jabalpur City, passed through the place where a number of dairy-owners had started storing the cow/buffalo dung and waste of the dairy products, and that too, near the pipelines which was likely to contaminate the pure water supplied to the residents of the City for home consumption. On this aspect, the High Court recorded the following findingscalled the Public Health Engineering persons and the Corporation Authorities. The Corporation Authorities informed us that proceedings under Section 133 of the Code of Criminal Procedure were taken against these persons and against Shri Manohar Singh Marwaha. Against Marwaha Dairy final order has been passed which is also the subject of revision before the Sessions Judge, Jabalpur in which interim order has been passed by the Sessions Judge restraining the M.P. Electricity Board from disconnection of their power supply. We also sought reports from the Public Health Engineering Department, Revenue Authorities and Corporation Authorities and after considering the matter, we find that keeping all these dairies around these water supply lines is a great hazard to the lives of the people of Jabalpur, because most of them get water from these pipelines on which cow/buffalo dungs are being stored by the dairy owners as a result of which there is every likelihood of pollution in the town by the supply of pollutedHigh Court, thereafter, considered the question of rehabilitating the dairy-owners at some other place and passed the following order on a consideration of the case of each dairy-owner individuallyWe, therefore, explored the possibility of rehabilitating these dairy owners from the present location so that cow/buffalo dung may not pollute the water supply lines. We have now been informed that so far as dairy owner Ramji Patil is concerned, his present dairy is situated on Khasra No. 15/3 at Gwarighat. He has 197 cattle heads. He has other lands in village Lalpur, i.e. Settlement No. 641, bearing Kh. Nos. 134, 154/2, 135 and 136/3. It is, therefore, directed that since Ramji Patel has a site available on the lands bearing the aforesaid Khasra numbers, he should shift his dairy from the present site to any of the above mentioned sites of Kh. No. 15/3 at Gwarighat within two months from today.6. Shiv Kumar Patel has got his dairy at Gwarighat on Khasra No. 15/2. He has 18 cattle heads. He has also a land in Khasra Nos. 4 and 5/2 at Gwarighat which site is sufficiently away from the present site. He is also directed to remove his dairy to any of the above mentioned places from the present one within two months from today.7. Hariram Rajak has his dairy at Gwarighat. He does not have any land of his own. He has 30 cattle heads. He does not have any alternative land. Therefore, we asked the S.D.M. Jabalpur that he may be provided a site for his dairy. He has pointed out that there is a land available at village Tilhari, bearing Kh. No. 200/1 of Patwari Circle No. 23/27, measuring about 30.106 hectares. We asked the Public Health Engineering Department authorities also to go and find out whether there is water available in that area or not. Shri A.K. Tiwari, Chief Engineer, Public Health Engineering Department, Jabalpur and his Executive Engineer both have inspected the area and also conducted hydrological tests. According to their report, there is plenty of water in that area. Therefore, there will be no difficulty so far as supply of water to this dairy is concerned. It is directed that Hariram Rajak shall make a proper application before the Nazul Officer, Jabalpur and the Collector, Jabalpur shall forward the same to the State Government for allotting 0.50 hectares of land to him for running his dairy. The State Government is directed that 0.50 hectares of land shall be allotted to Hariram Rajak on usual charges within a month from today. The Public Health Engineering Department shall dig a tubewell for him at that place at the cost of the State Exchequer within another period of one month. Hariram Rajak shall be removed from the present place within a period of two months to the newly allotted site. All this exercise should be done by the State Government and the Public Health Engineering Department within a period of two months from today. It will be the responsibility of the Corporation to see that the dairy of Hariram Rajak is removed within two months from today and all formalities shall also be completed by the State Government within this period.8. Another dairy owner is Shri Manohar Singh Marwaha. He shall also be allotted land at Tilhari. He has his dairy on 0.148 hectares of land at Gwarighat. He has 150 cattle heads. He shall be allotted land at Tilhari out of Kh. No. 200/1, Patwari Circle No. 23/27, measuring 30.10 hectares. Out of this Khasra, he will be given 0.50 hectares of land on usual charges. He shall make an application before the Nazul Officer, Jabalpur and the Collector shall forward his application to the State Government. The State Government is directed to allot this piece of land to Shri Manohar Singh Marwaha. The Public Health Engineering Department shall also dig a tubewell on this land at the cost of the State. All this exercise should be done within a period of two months from today. It will be responsibility of the State Government and the Public Health Engineering Authorities that all these facilities are made available to the aforesaid dairy owners. It will also be the responsibility of the Jabalpur Corporation to remove all the aforesaid dairies within two months from today to the locations mentionedLeave Petitions being filed in this Courton the basis ofts and

Court's reasoning:
17. It appears that there has been previous litigation between the parties with regard to the running of dairies which, at that time, were being run by the petitioners within the Municipal limits of Jabalpur. In 1971, a writ petition for the shifting of dairies was filed in the Madhya Pradesh High Court which by its judgment dated 6.2.1976 framed a scheme directing the Corporation to reserve three plots outside the Municipal limits of Jabalpur where thewould shift their dairies. On account of the dispute having arisen between the Municipal Corporation, Jabalpur and thewith regard to the development charges which thewere required to pay, another writ petition was filed in the Madhya Pradesh High Court by about 89Since a choice was given to theto make their own arrangement for establishing and running their duties outside the Municipal limits of Jabalpur, the writ petition as dismissed by the High Court on 2.1.1976. It was, thereafter that thepurchased plots of land outside the Municipaled their dairies. The plots of land were purchased by the petitioners in villages Lalpur and Gwarighat in 1982 and they shifted their dairies to those villages which had already been excepted from the operation of the Madhya Pradesh Cattle (Control) Act, 1978.18. The petitioners have set out in the present petitions that one Shri K.K. Nayakar, a Mimicry Artist of repute, purchased a plot of land and constructed a house at Gwarighat which was at a distance of about 500 metre from the dairy of one of the petitioners and as Shri Nayakar did not like the presence of dairies near his house, he filed a complaint under Section 133 of the Code of Criminal Procedure before theMagistrate, Jabalpur, for the removal of nuisance created by the petitioners. While the proceedings were pending before theMagistrate under Section 133 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, a writ petition was filed in the Madhya Pradesh High Court which ultimately resulted in the judgment which is being impugned before us.19. From the facts set out above, it will be seen that when the Special Leave Petitions were filed in this Court, the villages Lalpur and Gwarighat were in the list of "excepted villages" where dairies could be established and run and cattle could be kept. Since it was stated in the writ petition that the main water pipeline from the Filtration Plant at Lalpur passed nearby the dairies set up by the petitioners on account of which the drinking water was likely to be contaminated by the Gobar (cowdung) and urine of hundreds of cattle kept there, this Court, while entertaining the Special Leave Petitions, considered the possibility of a project being devised so as to prevent altogether the possibility of pollution/contamination of water carried through pipelines already embedded about four feet below the surface of the earth. It was for this reason that this Court by its order dated 7.11.1997 directed the Central Pollution Control Board to consider this matter and to report whether the likelihood of pollution to the drinking water carried by the pipeline in question could be ruled out by any device suggested by it. On the submission of the Report of the Central Pollution Control Board, which was also supported by the State Pollution Control Board, the Court directed a project to be prepared for that purpose. On the submission of the Project Report, since it was given out by the petitioners that they would implement the project and carry out all other recommendations made by the Central Pollution Control Board, the Court directed the petitioners to implement the project which included, inter alia, the setting up of a Gobar Gas (Bio Gas) Plant. The petitioners, apart from making a payment of Rs. 93,000/to the Central Pollution Control Board towards its Inspection Fee etc., also took up the construction of a Gobar Gas Plant and entered into an agreement for purchase of certain additional land as suggested by the Central Pollution Control Board. Time to complete the construction of the Gobar Gas Plant was extended from time to time by this Court and ultimately an affidavit was filed on behalf of the petitioners that the Gobar Gas Plant has been constructed and established. The construction was carried out under the supervision of the Madhya Pradesh Urja Vikas Nigam as directed by this Court and Madhya Pradesh Urja Vikas Nigam also submitted its progress report. An affidavit to the effect that the Gobar Gas Plant had become functional was also filed before the Court. The cost of construction of the Gobar Gas Plant which was incurred by the petitioners is more than Rs. 5 lakhs.20. While these proceedings were pending in this Court, the Municipal Corporation adopted a Resolution to exclude from the list of "excepted villages" the two villages where the dairies in question are situate, namely, Lalpur and Gwarighat, so that the dairies may be shifted from these two villages and established elsewhere outside the limits of Municipal Corporation, Jabalpur. An affidavit to this effect was, for the first time, filed on behalf of the Municipal Corporation, Jabalpur, in March 1998. But the Notification issuedon the basis ofthat Resolution was still not filed before the Court and this has been placed before the Court during the course of the arguments.Supply of pure drinking water is the statutory duty of the Municipal Corporation and the supply of such water has to be ensured to every citizen. In a situation, where the interest of the community is involved, the individual interest must yield to the interest of the community or the general public. Since the Cattle (Control) Act, 1978 is already in force within the Municipal limits of Jabalpur city, the dairies cannot be established and cattle cannot be kept so as to cause public nuisance in contravention of the statutory provisions. But the Court cannot also overlook the fact that the petitioners, who had already been uprooted from one place, and that too, at the dictate of the judiciary, had established dairies at a place at which such activity was not prohibited. In the list of villages appended to the Notification issued under the Cattle (Control) Act, 1978, Lalpur and Gwarighat were the villages, besides other villages, where such activity could be legally carried on. These villages were taken out of that list during the pendency of the present proceedings by virtue of a Resolution adopted by the Municipal Corporation on 21.10.1997. The petitioners have already invested huge sums in setting up a Gobar Gas Plant at an expense of more than Rupees Five lakhs and have also incurred an expense of Rs. 93,000/towards Inspection Fee of the Central Pollution Control Board in pursuance of the order passed by this Court.23. The validity of the Resolution dated 21.10.1997 as reflected in the Gazette Notification dated 19.3.1999 cannot be legally adjudicated upon in these proceedings on the oral submissions made by Dr. Rajeev Dhawan, learned Senior Counsel, who also pointed out that although the Resolution was adopted only in respect of Lalpur village, the Notification published in the Gazette mentions Gwarighat village also. If the Notification is intended to be challenged by the petitioners, they have to initiate appropriate proceedings in which they have to set out the foundation for such challenge so that the State Govt. or, for that matter, the Municipal Corporation may have adequate opportunity of submitting their reply, particularly as they have also to explain why only these two villages were taken out of the list of "excepted villages" set out in the Notification of 1978 and why the activity of establishing dairies in other villages was not prohibited, although those other villages were also within the Municipal limits of Jabalpur city.