Abadi Land Can Be Used For Panchayat Bhawan, But Not At the Cost Of Public Utility Buildings: Allahabad HC

The Court was addressing a suo motu petition related to the restoration of a dilapidated Community Health Centre in a Village.

The case involved the partial demolition of a building that had originally been constructed in 1987 as a CHC/Jaccha Baccha Kendra (Maternity and Child Care Centre) for the village. The building had been left unused for the past eight years and was partly demolished to make way for the construction of a Panchayat Bhawan. The Tehsildar of the area informed the court that the decision to demolish part of the building was made because the originally reserved land for the Panchayat Bhawan was insufficient in size to accommodate the new structure. As a result, part of the land where the CHC was situated was proposed to be used for the construction of the Bhawan.

A Bench of Justice Saurabh Shyam Shamshery said, “The Court is further of considered opinion that vacant land of Abadi may be utilized for construction of Panchayat Bhawan but it cannot be on the cost of any other building for public utility. It is very unfortunate that earlier Pradhans and even present Pradhan have not taken any steps for renovation of Community Health Center/ Jaccha Baccha Kendra and even the Health Department of State has remained lethargic towards it”

During the hearing, a report submitted by the court-appointed amicus curiae highlighted the poor condition of the Jaccha Baccha Kendra. The report stated that the building had fallen into disrepair due to the authorities' negligence, including the failure to maintain it with basic tasks such as whitewashing and painting. The report also noted that inadequate sanitation and waterlogging during the rainy season had further contributed to the building's deterioration. Moreover, the authorities had failed to request funds for repairs over the years.

The amicus curiae's report emphasized the importance of restoring the Jaccha Baccha Kendra, as the villagers had to travel 7-10 kilometers for healthcare. The villagers had expressed a strong desire to have the Kendra restored to improve access to health services, especially for women in the area.

Taking into account the findings in the report and criticizing the local leadership for their failure to take action on the building's renovation, the Court issued the following directions:

(a) Health Department of State will take steps for renovation of building, which is in dilapidated condition and was earlier used as Community Health Center/ Jaccha Baccha Kendra, if it's utility still exist, i.e., even after existence of Health and Wellness Center and for that a comprehensive study be undertaken by District Magistrate, Mau and Chief Medical Officer, Maum which also includes suggestion of villagers. This exercise shall be completed within four weeks from today and appropriate decision thereon be taken within two weeks thereafter.

(b) The construction of Panchayat Bhawan shall not cause any hindrance for ingress or outgress of the area on which the present building of Community Health Center/ Jaccha Baccha Kendra is situated and if necessary modification may be made in the map of construction of Panchayat Bhawan.

(c) Further construction of Panchayat Bhawan shall be commenced only after District Magistrate, Mau and Chief Medical Officer, Mau will give its report, i.e., there will be no construction of Panchayat Bhawan for atleast six weeks from today.

(d) The authorities/ concerned Panchayat will take further action on basis of the report.

The Court also noted that the authorities had neglected the maintenance of the CHC building for years, leading to its poor state of repair, and criticized both the previous and current village Pradhans for not addressing the issue sooner.

With these directions, the Public Interest Litigation (PIL) was disposed of.

Cause Title: In Re: Restoration Of Community Health Centre v. State of UP & Ors., [2024:AHC:172332]

Appearance:

Petitioner: Advocates Pawan Kumar Singh, Jaideep Kumar Singh, Muktesh Kumar Singh

Respondents: Advocates Rameshwar Prasad Shukla