Surat Jaman and 39 Ors v. The Union of India and 8 Ors

ORDER

26.09.2023 Heard Mr. A.F.N.U. Mollah, learned counsel for the writ petitioners. Also heard Ms. M. Barman, learned Govt. Advocate, Assam appearing for the respondent Nos.2, 4 and 5. Mr. N. K. Devnath, learned Standing Counsel, P & RD Department, Assam is present on behalf of respondent Nos.3, 6, 7, 8 and 9. None has appeared for the respondent No.1.

¶2The writ petitioners herein, numbering 40 in total, claim to be the ordinary residents of villages coming under the Gaurnagar Gaon Panchayat, of Jaleswar Development Block. According to the petitioners they had not received earlier benefits under any of the Government sponsored housing schemes and therefore, were entitled to allotment of dwelling houses under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana - Gramin (PMAY-G) Scheme which had commenced with effect from 1st April, 2016. While the petitioners were expecting that their names would be included in the list of beneficiaries, they were surprised to find that their names were deleted from the list forwarded by the Secretary of the Joyramkuchi Gaon Panchayat falling under the Lakhipur Development Block. Aggrieved thereby, the instant writ petition has been filed.

¶3On receipt of notice, the respondents have appeared. The respondent No.5 i.e. the Project Director, DRDA has also filed counter-affidavit contesting the claim of the petitioners.

¶4From the materials available on record, it appears that the stand of the Page No.# 11/15 departmental authorities is to the effect that as per the Socio Economic and Caaste Census-2011 (SECC), the names of the petitioners were not found to be included in the list of beneficiaries under the Gaurnagar Gaon Panchayat coming within the Jaleswar Development Block. That is the reason why their names were not included in the list of beneficiaries.

¶5Responding to the above, Mr. Mollah, learned counsel for the writ petitioners submits that the names of his clients are included in the list of beneficiaries for the adjoining Gaon Panchayat i.e. Joyramkuchi Gaon Panchayat coming under the Lakhipur Development Block but the petitioners are the ordinary residents of Gaurnagar Gaon Panchayat. This discrepancy, according to Mr. Mollah, has occurred during the preparation of list of the beneficiaries during the socio-economic and caste census-2011 for reasons not known to the petitioners. However, submits Mr. Mollah, the petitioners cannot be deprived of the benefits under the PMAY-G Scheme merely on such technical grounds since they had no fault in inclusion of their names in the adjoining Gaon Panchayat. Mr. Mollah has further submitted that his clients are genuine villagers who are entitled to receive dwelling houses under the PMAY-G scheme and therefore, if an order is not passed by this Court protecting their interest in the matter, then the same would result in serious prejudice being caused to the petitioners.

¶6Ms. M. Barman, learned Government Advocate, Assam and Mr. Devnath, learned Standing Counsel, P & RD Department, Assam have submitted in tandem that after the list of beneficiaries was published, the aggrieved persons had 15 days time to raise objection under the provisions of the Scheme but the petitioners have remained silent in the matter. As such, their Page No.# 12/15 claims cannot be considered at this distant point of time. The learned Departmental counsel have, however, submitted that as and when any future benefits are announced for the residents of the Gaurnagar G.P., the petitioners' claim will be considered. It is also the submission of Ms. Barman, learned Govt. Advocate that from the resolution No.5 adopted by the Joyramkuchi Gaon Panchayat in its meeting held on 30.06.2016, it is clear that the petitioners were not identified as the residents of the Gaon Panchayat and therefore, it was observed that their names had been unauthorisedly included in the list of beneficiaries. It was on such count the names of the writ petitioners were deleted from the list of beneficiaries.

¶7The aforesaid stand of the learned Government Advocate is found to be wholly unacceptable. The fact remains that inclusion of names of beneficiaries in the list is a matter for the authorities to decide based on realistic inputs received from the Gaon Panchayat level. If the petitioners are the residents of Gaurnagar Gaon Panchayat, which fact is apparently borne out from the communication dated 21.11.2020 issued by the Block Development Officer, Jaleswar Development Block (Annexure-4), then it is not understood as to why, their names could not have been included either in the list of beneficiaries of the Gaurnagar Gaon Panchayat or Joyramkuchi Gaon Panchayat.

¶8Be that as it may, since there is no controversy about the fact that the petitioners are otherwise eligible for receiving the benefits under the PMAY-G Scheme, this Court is of the opinion that they cannot be denied of such benefit merely on a technical ground, as projected by the respondents. Although Ms. Barman has submitted that having failed to raise any objection within 15 days from publication of the list, the petitioners' claim stood extinguished, I find that Page No.# 13/15 the stand of the departmental authorities is very technical in nature. The petitioners are mostly poor and illiterate villagers and therefore, their claim for receiving benefits under the PMAY-G Scheme cannot be obliterated merely on a technical ground that the petitioners had failed to raise objection to the non-inclusion of their names in the list of beneficiaries within 15 days of its publication.

¶9The framework for implementation of the PMAY-G Scheme lays down certain criteria for identification and selection of beneficiaries. Clause-4.0 and

4.1 of the Scheme are relevant for the purpose of this case and therefore, are being reproduced herein below for ready reference :- "4.0 Fairness and transparency in identification and selection of beneficiaries is the cornerstone for realising the goal of 'Housing for All'. To ensure that assistance is targeted at those who are genuinely deprived and that the selection is objective and verifiable, the housing deprivation parameters in the SECC data will be used for identifying households and then verified by the Gram Sabhas.

4.1 Universe of Eligible Beneficiaries Moving away from BPL list, the universe of eligible beneficiaries under PMAY (G) will include all the houseless and households living in zero, one or two room houses with kutcha wall and kutcha roof as per SECC data, subject to the exclusion process described in Annexure-I."

¶10From a reading of Clause-4.2, which deals with Prioritisation within the Universe, this Court finds that priority is to be assigned on the basis of parameters reflecting housing deprivation in each category including SC/ST, Minorities and Others. Clause-4.2.1 further clarifies that persons in the category of SC/ST, Minorities and other households which are houseless or living in houses with Page No.# 14/15 lower number of rooms shall not be ranked below households living in houses with higher number of rooms. From the materials available on record, it is not clear as to whether the respondents have followed these criteria while finalising the list of beneficiaries.

¶11It is to be borne in mind that the benefits under the PMAY-G Scheme is meant for the poorest of the poor people in the society who do not have the requisite means to construct a proper dwelling house for themselves. Bearing in mind the benevolent object of the scheme, the respondents will, therefore, have to ensure that the deserving persons, who come within the ambit of the scheme are not deprived of any benefit merely on a technical ground as such an approach would not only be violative of the principles of equality enshrined under Article 14 of the Constitution of India but would also run counter to the object of the Scheme.

¶12Situated thus, this writ petition is being disposed of with a direction upon the respondent Nos.3, 4 and 5 to verify the claims of the petitioners. Upon such verification, if it is found that the petitioners are the genuine residents of Gaurnagar Gaon Panchayat and are similarly situated as the other beneficiaries of the Gaon Panchayat, then in that event, necessary steps for inclusion of their names in the list of beneficiaries in respect of the Gaurnagar Gaon Panchayat be initiated. Upon completion of the said process, the claim of the petitioners for extending the benefit under the PMAY-G Scheme be also considered and processed in accordance with law. So as to enable the official respondents to carry out the aforesaid exercise, petitioners to furnish certified copy of this order before the respondent Nos.3, 4 and 5 within a week. The exercise, as directed by this order, be carried out and completed, as Page No.# 15/15 expeditiously as possible but not later than six months from the date of receipt of a certified copy of this order, but within the period of validity of the PMAY-G Scheme. With the above observation, this writ petition stands disposed of.

JUDGE Comparing Assistant

PageoNo.#o1/15 GAHC010214462021 ooooooo ooooooooooooooo ooooooooooooooooTHEoGAUHATIoHIGHoCOURTo (HIGHoCOURToOFoASSAM,oNAGALAND,oMIZORAMoANDoARUNACHALoPRADESH)o CaseoNo.o:oWP(C)/166/2022o SURAToJAMANoANDo39oORSo S/OoLT.oNIBEDoALI,oVILL-CHAIBARI,oP.O.-GOURNAGAR,oP.S.-LAKHIPUR,o DIST-GOALPARA,oASSAM,oPIN-783132 2:oSAHAJAMALo@oSAHAJAMALoHAQUE oS/OoLATEoNIBEDoALI 3:oNURoISLAMo@oNURICHALAM oS/OoLATEoNIBEDoALI 4:oAJURoUDDINo@oAJIRUDDINoSHEIKH oS/OoCHABEDoALI 5:oPAYNALoHAQUE oS/OoLATEoMAIJUDDIN PageoNo.#o2/15 6:oALEYAoKHATUN oW/OoNURoJAMALoHAQUE 7:oROHIMAoBIBI oW/OoMOZAFARoALI 8:oMAJEDoBEWAo@oMAJIDAoBEWA oW/OoLATEoMEHERoALI 9:oSORBANUoBIBI oW/OoSAMDULLAHoSK 10:oMOMIRULoHOQUEo@oMONIRULoHOQUE oS/OoLATEoTACHURoUDDIN PageoNo.#o3/15 11:oMOZAMMILoHOQUEo@oMOJAMILoHAQUE oS/OoSUBULYAoSHEIKH oMUSLIMPARA 12:oSAMADoALIo@oCHAMEDoALI oS/OoCHANDULYA 13:oMOZIYAMoBEWAo@oMAJIJAMoBEWA oW/OoTORIFKHA 14:oJAKIRoMOLLAH oS/OoSOBAHANoMOLLAH 15:oAKIRoMOLLAHo@oAKIRoMOLLAH oS/OoLATEoSOBAHANoMOLLAH PageoNo.#o4/15 16:oAJMAToALI oS/OoLATEoSUBULLAHoSHEIKH 17:oAMIRULoHAQUE oS/OoJABBARoALI oS/OoLATEoSUBULLAHoSHEKH 18:oNOSORoUDDIN oS/OoLATEoNACHUoSKo@oNUSUBULLYA 19:oTOFIZoUDDINoMOLLAHo@oTAFIJUDDINoMOLLAH oS/OoKHOKAoMOLLAH 20:oAMIRULoAKANDo@oAMINULoAKAND oS/OoSOLEMANoAKAND 21:oMOJILLAoHOQUE PageoNo.#o5/15 oS/OoSHERoALI 22:oSHERoALI oS/OoJAMATULLAHoSHEIKH oVILL-SHALBARI 23:oSAHABoUDDINoSKo@oSAHABoUDDINoSHEKH oS/OoTARAoSHEKH 24:oAFZALoKHAo@oAFJALoKHA oS/OoSHORBOLoKHA oVILL-SALBARIoPT-I oCHAIBARI 25:oBAHALAJANoBIBI oW/OoSIDDIQUEoALI 26:oEMDADULoHOQUEo@oEANJADULoHAQUE oS/OoJABEDoALI oVILL-CHOWKATOLA PageoNo.#o6/15 27:oOPIDULoHOQUEo@oOPIDULoHAQUE oS/OoABDULoLATIF oVILL-CHOWKATOLA 28:oALIoHUSSAIN oS/OoAZADoALI oVILL-CHOWKATOLA 29:oMOZAMMILoHOQUEo@oMOJAMMILoHOQUE oS/OoNURoISLAM 30:oTOZZAMMELoHOQUE oS/OoLATEoSUBULLAoSHEIKH 31:oMOZMULoHOQUEo@oMAJAMULoHAQUE oS/OoLATEoSAHIDAoBIBI oW/OoLATEoNURoISLAM PageoNo.#o7/15 32:oREYAZoUDDINo@oYAJoUDDIN oS/OoFAZARoSHEIKH 33:oSANOWARoHUSSAIN oS/OoMOHIRoUDDIN 34:oSAKIBULoISLAMo@oSABIKULoHAQUE oS/OoAJIYALoHAQUE 35:oBARAKAToALIo@oBARKAToALI oS/OoILIMUDDIN oVILL-CHOWKATOLA 36:oBAHARoALI oS/OoIMANoALI oVILL-CHOWKATOLA PageoNo.#o8/15 37:oKHOKAoMOLLAH oS/OoMOYJUDDINoMOLLAH 38:oJALALoUDDIN oS/OoMANIKoALI 39:oSAHAJALALo@oSHAHJALLALoSHEIKH oS/OoTAHERoALIoSHEIKH oVILL-CHOWKATOLA 40:oMAJIDAoKHATUN oD/OoMAYFALoBIBI oVILL-CHOWKATOLA oPIN-78313o VERSUSo THEoUNIONoOFoINDIAoANDo8oORSo REPRESENTEDoBYoTHEoSECRETARY,oMINISTRYoOFoHOUSINGoANDoURBANo POVERTYoALLEVIATION,oNEWoDELHI-01 2:THEoSTATEoOFoASSAM oREPRESENTEDoBYoTHEoCHIEFoSECRETARYoTOoTHEoGOVT.oOFoASSAM oDISPUR oGUWAHATI-6 Page No.# 9/15 3:THE COMMISSIONER AND SECRETARY TO THE GOVT. OF ASSAM PANCHAYAT AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT DISPUR GUWAHATI-06 4:THE DEPUTY COMMISSIONER GOALPARA ASSAM PIN-783101 5:THE PROJECT DIRECTOR DRDA GOALPARA P.O. AND P.S.-GOALPARA ASSAM PIN-783101 6:THE BLOCK DEVELOPMENT OFFICER JALESWAR DEV. BLOCK P.O.-JALESWAR P.S.-LAKHIPUR DIST- GOALPARA ASSAM PIN-783129 7:THE BLOCK DEVELOPMENT OFFICER LAKHIPUR DEV. BLOCK P.O. AND P.S.-LAKHIPUR DIST-GOALPARA ASSAM PIN-783129 8:THE SECRETARY OF GOURNAGAR GAON PANCHAYAT P.O.-GOURNAGAR P.S.-LAKHIPUR DIST- GOALPARA ASSAM PIN-783129 9:THE SECRETARY OF JOYRAMKUCHI GAON PANCHAYAT P.O.-GOURNAGAR P.S.-LAKHIPUR DIST- GOALPARA ASSAM PIN-78312 Advocate for the Petitioner : MR. A F N U MOLLAH Page No.# 10/15 Advocate for the Respondent : ASSTT.S.G.I. BEFORE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SUMAN SHYAM