The apex court says the 21 banks and nursing homes which are operating in Sector 19 or any other residential sector shall close their activity forthwith, stop misuse and put the premises to residential use alone.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday banned banks, nursing homes and other commercial offices in residential sectors of Noida with immediate effect but allowed doctors, lawyers, architects and other professionals to use a maximum of 30% of ground floor area as clinics or offices.
"The 21 banks and nursing homes which are operating in Sector 19 or any other residential sector shall close their activity forthwith, stop misuse and put the premises to residential use alone, within two months from today," a bench of Justices Swatanter Kumar and Ranjana P Desai said while dismissing a bunch of petitions filed by banks and owners of nursing homes operating from residential areas.
Failure to comply with the direction would invite sealing of the offending banks, nursing homes and commercial establishments operating from residential areas in breach of Noida Master Plan2001, the bench warned.
Apart from Noida administration, it cast an equal responsibility on plot owners to ensure that banks, nursing homes and other offices shut shop immediately and shift to "commercial,commercial pockets in industrial/institutional area and specified pockets for commercial use within the residential sector, earmarked for the activity in the development plan, regulation and provisions of the law".
The development authority must consider the request for allotment of alternative space to banks and persons carrying on other commercial activity with priority and expeditiousness, said Justice Kumar, who authored the judgment for the bench.
The apex court faulted the development authority (Noida) for allowing mixed use in residential areas in callous breach of the Master Plan and regulations. "Establishment of banks and nursing homes in residential sectors meant for residential use alone is unequivocal violation of the statutory provisions of the Master Plan," it said.
It criticized the development authority for being blind for a long time towards the blatant misuse of residential premises by land allottees, who had rented out their houses to banks and business set-ups. In fact, the conditional permission had been granted to such banks and commercial set-ups by certain officers of the development authority, the court noted.
"The officers of the development authority should refrain from carving out exceptions to the implementation of the Master Plan and regulations in force, that too without the authority of law," the court said.
Taking note of large nursing homes and banks operating from residential areas, the bench said, "Running of hospitals or even a medical clinic of this dimension cannot be permitted in a residential area. It would be different if a doctor uses permissible part of the premises for clinical purposes, that is, to meet or examine his patients in any portion.
"For surgery or specific treatments, such patients would have been addressed to proper nursing homes or regular hospitals. Therefore, the doctors cannot carry on, in the garb of a medical clinic, regular medical and surgical activity on a commercial scale."
The bench upheld the late action taken by the development authority to proceed against such violators of Master Plan. But it frowned upon the pick and choose policy adopted by the authority in proceeding against violators. "The action of the development authority should be free of arbitrariness and must be applied uniformly," the court said.
"The Master Plan and the Zonal Plan specify the user as residential and therefore these plots cannot be used for any other purpose. The plans have a binding effect in law. If the scheme/Master Plan is being nullified by arbitrary acts and in excess and derogation of the powers of the development authority under the law, the court will intervene and will direct such authority to take appropriate action and whenever necessary even quash the orders of the public authorities," it added.
"The 21 banks and nursing homes which are operating in Sector 19 or any other residential sector shall close their activity forthwith, stop misuse and put the premises to residential use alone, within two months from today," a bench of Justices Swatanter Kumar and Ranjana P Desai said while dismissing a bunch of petitions filed by banks and owners of nursing homes operating from residential areas.
Failure to comply with the direction would invite sealing of the offending banks, nursing homes and commercial establishments operating from residential areas in breach of Noida Master Plan2001, the bench warned.
Apart from Noida administration, it cast an equal responsibility on plot owners to ensure that banks, nursing homes and other offices shut shop immediately and shift to "commercial,commercial pockets in industrial/institutional area and specified pockets for commercial use within the residential sector, earmarked for the activity in the development plan, regulation and provisions of the law".
The development authority must consider the request for allotment of alternative space to banks and persons carrying on other commercial activity with priority and expeditiousness, said Justice Kumar, who authored the judgment for the bench.
The apex court faulted the development authority (Noida) for allowing mixed use in residential areas in callous breach of the Master Plan and regulations. "Establishment of banks and nursing homes in residential sectors meant for residential use alone is unequivocal violation of the statutory provisions of the Master Plan," it said.
It criticized the development authority for being blind for a long time towards the blatant misuse of residential premises by land allottees, who had rented out their houses to banks and business set-ups. In fact, the conditional permission had been granted to such banks and commercial set-ups by certain officers of the development authority, the court noted.
"The officers of the development authority should refrain from carving out exceptions to the implementation of the Master Plan and regulations in force, that too without the authority of law," the court said.
Taking note of large nursing homes and banks operating from residential areas, the bench said, "Running of hospitals or even a medical clinic of this dimension cannot be permitted in a residential area. It would be different if a doctor uses permissible part of the premises for clinical purposes, that is, to meet or examine his patients in any portion.
"For surgery or specific treatments, such patients would have been addressed to proper nursing homes or regular hospitals. Therefore, the doctors cannot carry on, in the garb of a medical clinic, regular medical and surgical activity on a commercial scale."
The bench upheld the late action taken by the development authority to proceed against such violators of Master Plan. But it frowned upon the pick and choose policy adopted by the authority in proceeding against violators. "The action of the development authority should be free of arbitrariness and must be applied uniformly," the court said.
"The Master Plan and the Zonal Plan specify the user as residential and therefore these plots cannot be used for any other purpose. The plans have a binding effect in law. If the scheme/Master Plan is being nullified by arbitrary acts and in excess and derogation of the powers of the development authority under the law, the court will intervene and will direct such authority to take appropriate action and whenever necessary even quash the orders of the public authorities," it added.
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