Kolkata Municipal Corporation & Ors vs Board Of Trustees For The Port Of Calcutta

The Court : The appeal arises out of an order dated December 8, 2009 passed on a writ petition instituted by the Board of Trustees for the Port of Kolkata pertaining to certain stretches of land that the Port considered its own but which were sought to be let out to third parties by the Kolkata Municipal Corporation for parking purposes.

There is no dispute that historically a large tracts of the land on either side of the river Hooghly in and around the old town of Calcutta and beyond was used by the Calcutta Port Authorities, later known as Kolkata Port Trust and now as the Board of Trustees for the Port of Kolkata. Even the Kolkata Municipal Corporation Act, 1980 recognises the stretches along the river Hooghly to belong to the Port. The disputes between the Port and the Corporation pertains to five stretches of roads to the immediate south and north of the Howrah Bridge. The southernmost stretch is the land between Canning Warehouse and erstwhile Strand Warehouse running from east to west. The second stretch runs from south to north and is situated to the immediate west of Armenian Warehouse on Armenian Ghat Road. The third stretch is to its immediate north, again on Armenian Ghat Road and to the immediate east of heavy lift yard. The two other stretches are roads running from east to west and to the north of the Howrah Bridge known as the Adya Shradhya Ghat Road and P. C. Tagore Ghat Road, respectively.

As far as the two stretches on Adya Shradhya Ghat Road and P. C. Tagore Ghat Road are concerned, the Port says that the State has purported to wrest possession of such roads as the State perceived that the Port did not use the same and resorted to the State's authority under the West Bengal Escheats and Forfeitures Act, 2012 to reclaim the roads. A petition under Article 226 of the Constitution instituted by the Port pertaining to these two stretches of road is pending in this Court.

According to the Kolkata Municipal Corporation, such Corporation has been maintaining all five stretches of roads and undertaking the cleaning and scavenging operations thereat and even taking responsibilities for illumination thereat. The State had purported to engage contractors for the purpose of parking lots being set up on all the five stretches of roads, whereupon the Port Trust protested by taking back control of the three stretches to the south of the Howrah Bridge but could not dispossess the State from the two stretches to the north of the Howrah Bridge. According to the Port, the east-west stretch between Canning Warehouse and erstwhile Strand Warehouse is used for public parking against fees. A contractor has been appointed and the tenure under the contract expires on May 31, 2020. As far as the southern of the two stretches on Armenian Ghat Road is concerned, the Port says that such road is under the possession of illegal occupants and the Port is contemplating taking steps under the Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Act, 1971 against the illegal occupants. The northern of the two stretches on Armenian Ghat Road had been let out to a contractor for parking purposes, but the contract has now expired.

The Port refers to Section 49 of the Major Port Trusts Act, 1963 to suggest that since all five stretches belong to the Port, the Port is entitled to put such stretches of road to whatever use the Port may desire and neither the Corporation nor any other authority can have any say in the matter.

There is no doubt that Section 49 of the Act of 1963 allows the Port here to use its property as it chooses. However, the use of the property must have a reasonable nexus with the functions of the Port. The Port may use these stretches of road for parking its own vehicles or even allowing visitors' vehicles to be parked thereat, with or without any fees; but it tends to stretch the law a bit to allow the Port to use the land for public parking against consideration.

In any event, all the five stretches of roads are used by the members of the public and, to such extent, it may not be permissible to block off such stretches, whether as a parking lot or otherwise. The public's access to such stretches of roads and through such roads must be maintained. Further, it transpires that the cleaning and maintenance services pertaining to the five stretches of roads and lighting thereat have been provided by the Corporation for years together. In such circumstances, it may not be desirable to allow to convert such stretches of roads into public parking lots, though the Port's own vehicles and vehicles of visitors attending Port offices may always be parked along such stretches without impeding the public's access to and through such roads.

However, since the matters pertaining to Adya Shradhya Ghat Road and P. C. Tagore Ghat Road are pending elsewhere, the order herein will not cover such two stretches of roads but will apply to the three other stretches. It will be open to the Port to take appropriate steps in respect of the stretches on the Adya Shradhya Ghat Road and P. C. Tagore Ghat Road upon the writ petition in such regard being disposed of.

It will be open to the Corporation to stop providing maintenance, cleaning and lighting facilities on all the aforesaid stretches. However, the Corporation will have no right to stop the drainage facilities, particularly, since the roads or the relevant stretches may be used by members of the public. The Port may not make any construction on any of the stretches so that it impedes public's access thereto.

Since nothing survives of the appeal, APO No.64 of 2010 stands disposed of. It is made clear that nothing herein impinges on the authority of Bench in seisin of the matters pertaining to Adya Shradhya Ghat Road and P. C. Tagore Ghat Road.

There will be no order as to costs.

Urgent certified website copies of this order, if applied for, be supplied to the parties upon compliance with all requisite formalities.