Judges of the state judiciary have approached the Gujarat high court for allotment of residential plots under the scheme announced by the state government in 2003.
Judges of the state judiciary have approached the Gujarat high court for allotment of residential plots under the scheme announced by the state government in 2003. More than 10 senior, junior and retired judges and several high ranking judicial officers are among the 38 petitioners who have been waiting for plots for the last three years.
According to the petition, the state government had issued a circular about the scheme under which government officers were to be allotted residential plots as per their cadre and pay scales. According to the circular, once a claimant applies for a plot of land, the government office concerned must decide on their application within 120 days.
The state government has been dragging its feet over the allotment of land plots to judicial officers and has failed to address their grievance. Last year, 22 judicial officers, including some judges, had filed a petition in this regard. Later, other judicial officers joined them in their petition one by one.
After a tough legal battle, the state government had agreed to allot plots to judicial officers but had sought time for consideration of applications as the number of plots available was much less than the number of claimants.
“The state government had filed three affidavits on different occasions. It is not denying our claim. At the same time, it has not allotted us plots as per the circular of 2003,” said Chinmay Gandhi, counsel for the petitioners.
“In its first affidavit, the government said the judicial officers are eligible for plots but their applications are under consideration. In the second affidavit, it said that as the number of available plots was much less than the number of claimants, it was considering allotting plots by a system of draw. In the third affidavit, it sought more time to come to a decision in the matter,” Gandhi said.
Incidentally, some judges had applied for plots in 2008 and 2009 when they had not yet retired from service. Yet they too were not given any plot of land.
The government has acquired land at Chenpur, Ranip, Ognaj and Khodiar areas on the outskirts of the city to allot plots to government employees.
Sources said the government is facing a shortage of land in
the city as it has mutated another scheme to allot flats to employees. Recently, the government allotted plots to high court employees near Vasantnagar township in Gota. Employees of the high court are entitled to plots as per their cadre and pay scales.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}