Even though not all the conditions were met in this case, the Court decided that it could not dismiss the plea of the 85-year-old woman.
“Balance of ecological conditions is a need for the citizen and not for the law. The petitioner, who is an 85-year-old lady, wants to construct a residential house in her last days of life. She is an orphan residing in an orphanage. Her husband and son already died. I am of the considered opinion that this Court cannot turn its face to this ground reality and reject the application stating that the reclamation of the property will adversely affect the ecological condition and the cultivation in the adjoining paddy land,” the Court said.
The Court directed the concerned authorities to consider this as an exceptional case and find 10 cents of land in the petitioners’ property that would have the least environmental impact if reclaimed by the petitioner to construct a house.
“This should be done within 3 weeks because every day is important to this Octogenarian who is now 85 years old,” the Court added.
However, it clarified that the directions issued in this case were confined to the petitioner’s property and should not be treated as a precedent.
Source: Barandbench
