Gian Chand Mahajan vs Rehri Market Union and Another

S.S. Sodhti and Ashok Bhan, JJ.—An unauthorised Rehri Market has come up in Sector 37, the removal of which is sought by the petitioner whose house is located nearby.

Sanction for this Rehri market to be located there has never been sought or granted, even though the Rehriwalas have for some time now been operating from their, so much so that they have even installed their own generators for providing electricity there.

It appears that this market has been set up by 20 to 25 Rehriwalas to whom the Chandigarh Administration has granted hawker licences. Such a license, as the name connotes, does not permit a Rehri to be parked for business permanently at one place.

The respoetdent-Rehri Market Union of Section 37-C, in its return, sought in the first instance to deny that any market had been established there, but it went on to concede, however, that the members of their Union had parked their Rehris for carrying on business on the said site in Section 37, Virtually admitting thereby the existence of a market there. What is of material significance here is that there was no reference to any rule or permission authorising them to do business there by permanently parking their Rehris at that spot.

Inherent in this state of affairs, besides the nuisance caused thereby to those living in the vicinity, is the flagrant disregard to the norms of a planned city by the mushroom growth of such Rehri markets, in respect of which the Chandigarh Administration, on its part, seems to rest content by merely acknowledging their authorised existence without any further and. What was sad to note in this context was the absence of any mention, in its return, of the action that it contemplated or proposed to take withregard to this unauthorised Rehri Market. It was only when the matter was adjourned specifically to enable the counsel for the Chandigarh Administration to obtain instructions regarding the action that the Chandigarh Administration propose to take, that counsel eventually placed on record a letter from the Estate Office to say that the Rehris would be removed within two months.

There is, indeed, a duty cast upon the Chandigarh Administration to ensure that the rules and bye-laws pertaining to the planning and development of the city are enforced and complied with and all necessary steps are taken with utmost promptitude to check and remove any violation thereof. Inaction or slackness, in this behalf, cannot but adversely reflect upon its efficiency and more so its commitment to maintain for Chandigarh its pride of place of being the best planned city in the country.

In the context of the circumstances here, it is imperative that action be initiated immediately to remove this unauthorised Rehri Market from Section 37-C. A specific direction is consequently hereby issued to the respondent-Rehri Union to remove their Rehris from this market and site within a fortnight while the Chandigarh Administration on its part is hereby directed to take all necessary steps to ensure that the Rehri Market is removed forthwith, at any rate, not later than within a fortnight.

This writ petition is, thus, accepted in these terms with Rs. 1,000/- as costs.

A copy of this judgment be forwarded immediately to the Advisor to the Administrator of Chandigarh.