TMI Blog1987 (2) TMI 509X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... uty. We will quote the whole of it: * How can you buy or sell the sky, the warmth of the land? The idea is strange to us. If we do not own the freshness of the air and the sparkle of the water, how can you buy them? Every part of the earth is sacred to my people. Every shining pine needle, every sandy shore, every mist in the dark woods, every clearing and humming insect is holy in the memory and experience of my people. The Sap which courses through the trees carries the memories of the red man. The white man's dead forget the country of their birth when they go to walk among the stars. Our dead never forget this beautiful earth, for it is the mother of the *Reproduced verbatim from Pariyavaran Vol. I No. 1, June 1984. red man. We are part of the earth and it is part of us. The perfumed flowers are our sisters; the horse, the great eagle, these are our brothers. The rockly crests, the juices in the meadows, the body heat of the pony, and man--all belong to the same family. So, when the Great Chief in Washing- ton sends word that he wishes to buy our land, he asks much of us. The Great Chief sends word he will reserve us a place so that we can live comfortably ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... tree, the man, they all share the same breath. The white man does not seem to notice the air he breathes. Like a man dying for many days, he is numb to the stench. But if we sell you our land, you must remember that the air is precious to us, that the air shares its spirit with all the life it supports. The wind that gave our grandfather his first breath also receives the last sigh. And if we sell you our land, you must keep it apart and sacred as a place where even the white man can go to taste the wind that is sweetened by the meadows flowers. So we will consider your offer to buy our land. If we decide to accept, I will make one condition. The White man must treat the beasts of this land as his brothers. I am a savage and I do not understand any other way. I have seen a thousand rotting buffaloes on the prairie, left by the white man who shot them from a passing train. I am a savage and I do not understand how the smoking iron horse can be more important than the buffalo that we kill only to stay alive. What is man without the beasts? If all the beasts were gone, man would die from a great loneliness of spirit. For whatever happens to the beasts soon hap- pens to man. A ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... of animal and plant species for economic reasons and sometimes for no good reason at all are factors which have contributed to environmental deterioration. While the scientific and technological progress of man has invested him with immense power over nature, it has also resulted in the unthinking use of the power, encroaching endlessly on nature. If man is able to transform deserts into cases, he is also leaving behind deserts in the place of cases. In the last century, a great German materialist philosopher warned mankind: Let us not, however, flatter ourselves overmuch on account of our human victories over nature. For each such victory nature takes its revenge on us. Each victory, it is true, in the first place brings about the results we expected, but in the second and third places it has quite different, unforeseen effects which only too often cancel the first. Ecologists are of the opinion that the most important ecological and social problem is the wide-spread disappearance all over the world of certain species of living organisms. Biologists forecast the extinction of animal and plant species on a scale that is incomparably greater than their extinction over the course ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... rity. The least that the Court may do is to examine whether appropriate consideration are borne in mind and irrelevancies excluded. In appropriate cases, the Court may go further, but how much further must depend on the circumstances of the case. The Court may always give necessary directions. However the Court will not attempt to nicely balance relevant considerations. When the question involves the nice balancing of relevant considerations, the Court may feel justified in resigning itself to acceptance of the decision of the concerned authority. We may now proceed to examine the facts of the present case. There is in Calcutta a zoological garden located in Allipore, now almost the heart of Calcutta, on either side of Belvedere Road, one of Calcutta's main arterial roads, fortynine acres on one side and eight acres on the other. The main zoo is in the fortynine acres block of land. There are some old buildings and vacant land in the eight acre plot of land. This eight acre plot of land is known as the Begumbari land. It is out of these eight acres that the land of the extent of four acres has been carved out and given to the Taj Group of Hotels for the construction of a Fiv ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... d it to be placed before the Cabinet. On January 7, 1981 a memorandum was prepared for the consideration of the Cabinet explaining the need for more Five Star Hotels in Calcutta and the benefits flowing out of the construction and establishment of such Five Star hotels. It was suggested that the Hastings House Property may be leased to the I.T.D.C. Group and the Begumbari property to the Taj Group of Hotels. In regard to the Begumbari property, it was stated: From the property of the Zoological Gardens on the Belvedere Road it is possible to carve out about four acres of land currently used for dumping garbage and also for growing grass for the elephants. It will be necessary and in any case advisable to shift the dumping ground, while adequate space can be made available for growing grass else- where in the same area. It was stated that the Finance and Tourism Department had agreed to the proposal to lease the properties to the I.T.D.C. and the Taj Group respectively. It was stated that though the Forest Department had suggested that Salt Lake was a better place for establishing a Five Star Hotel, there was no demand for a Five Star Hotel in that area and the request for a hotel ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... onsider abandoning the proposal to set up a hotel on the Eastern side of the Zoo. The Chief Town Planner also visited the site at the request of the Secretary, Metropolitan Development Department. The inspection was made in the presence of the Director of the zoo. The Chief Town Planner thought that two to 21/2 acres of land only might be made available for the hotel. He expressed the apprehension that if four acres of land were to be given for construction of a hotel, then the entire hospital and the dumping ground would have to be removed and the southern boundary of the hotel would come very close to the residential block. On March 19, the Taj Group submitted a proposal to the Government containing fairly detailed information about the tourism industry and its needs, the situation in Calcutta, the realities of hotel construction, the facts relating to what had been done in other cities, the benefits flowing out of the construction of hotels and their own proposals for constructing a hotel in the four acres of land in Belyedere Road. Two alternative financial arrangements were suggested. The first alternative was the payment of annual rent on the basis of the valuation of t ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ts ecological balance and adversely affect the bird migration which is one of the greatest attractions of the zoo. The area proposed to be taken for Hotel construction is already used by the zoo for fodder cultivation, burial ground for dead animals, animal hospital, operation theater, quarantine area, segregation wards, postmortem room and nursery both for zoo animals and horticultural section. These essential services cannot be accommodated within the campus of the main zoo for risk of spreading of infection to other animals of the zoo. Procurement of green fodder for the large number of harvivorous animals of the zoo is already a serious problem for the zoo and any disturbance to fodder cultivation will aggravate the situation. The Calcutta Zoo has the smallest area in comparison to other reputed Zoo. The Committee is of a opinion that no portion of Zoo land can be parted with for any other purpose. This being the position soil testing will hardly be of any avail as the zoo cannot spare the land. Shri Ashoka Basu, M.L.A., Shri K.P. Banerjee and Shri A.K. Das abstained from-participation in the proceedings. The Minister for Metropolitan Development submitted a note to the Chief ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... an be made available in this site for these essential services. It may also be stated in this connection that the Zoo cannot be run for a single day without these essential services, i.e. (i) burial ground for dead animals, a number of which die of infectious and communicable diseases, (2) quarantine area for keeping animals coming to the Zoo, at least for 15 days before being shifted to the Zoo proper, (3) isolation wards away from Zoo Hospital and quarantine area for treatment of animals suffering from infectious and contagious diseases. (4) post-mortem room for carrying out p.m. findings, (5) dumping ground for dumping huge garbages coming out of the Zoo daily, (6) fodder cultivation area for growing fodder for the harbivorous animals and (7) pathological laboratory for carrying pathological tests of animals and birds. As per clause 11 of the Alipore Zoological Garden (Management) Rules, 1957, the disposal of properties and funds are vested in the Managing Committee of he Garden. The relevant clause of the rule reads as below: The Managing Committee shall have custody and disposal of the property and funds of the Gardens and shall be responsible for proper maintenance ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... roposal of the Taj Group of Hotels for the construction of a Five Star Hotel. The terms and conditions of the lease were set out. On January 7, 1982, there was a joint meeting of the Establishment and Finance sub-committees of the Zoo and it was decided to recommend to the Committee of management that the demarcated area of four acres may be relinquished in favour of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Services Department subject to the requirement that the Zoo will continue to get the services and facilities in the existing structures until they were reconstructed on the adjacent land. On January 11, 1982 the Managing Committee endorsed the view of the sub-committees and this was communicated to the Government. On January 15, 1982, the Government of West Bengal wrote to the Land Acquisition Officer, with copies to the Taj Group of Hotels, directing the Land Acquisition Officer to give possession of the land to the Taj Group of Hotels subject to their later executing a proper long term lease. It was mentioned in the letter that the construction of the hotel should not be started till the lease deed was executed and registered. It was further expressly stipulated as follows:- The Al ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... onstruction. We are also told that an extent of 288 square meters out of the plot given to the Taj Group was carved out and given back for accommodating part of the reconstructed structures. Pursuant to the letter dated January 15, 1982 possession was given to Taj Group on January 16, 1982. Thereafter an expert Committee was constituted to supervise the construction Of alternative facilities. At that stage the writ petition out of which the present appeal arises was filed on February 26, 1982. Ini- tially the relief sought was primarily to restrain the Zoo authorities from giving effect to the two resolutions dated January 7, 1982 and January 11, 1982 to hand over the four acres to the Animal Husbandry Department of the Government. Subsequent to the filing of the Writ Petition, a lease deed was executed by the Taj Group of Hotels in favour of the Government. The writ petition was therefore, amended and a prayer for cancellation of the lease deed was added. First a learned Single Judge dismissed the Writ Petition. On appeal, a Division Bench of the High Court confirmed the judgment of the learned Single Judge. The original petitioners are now before us having obtained special leave ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... migratory birds or the animals. The Chief Minister also pointed out that the lessee and their experts on wild life has assured them that in any case adequate precaution would be taken in regard to illumination of the hotel and the layout of the surrendings so that no disturbance would be caused to the flight path of the birds or animals. On August 30, 1982, Shri J.R.D. Tata wrote to the Prime Minister pointing out that their Hotel management had discussed the matter at length with representatives of the Wild Life fund who were satisfied that the proposed hotel would cause no disturbance to the birds. He had again gone thoroughly into the project with special reference to its possible impact on the birds or environment and had also visited Calcutta in that connection. He was satisfied that the project could not possibly disturb birds using the lake or interfere with their free movement. He gave his reasons as follows: The four-acre plot assigned to the Hotel Company by the State Government is not within the boundaries of the area belonging to the Zoological Gardens but on the other side of Belvedere Road, an important thoroughfare parallel to the main boundary of the zoo and so ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... o upset the Zoo animals and welcoming his offer to help the State Government to improve the Zoo's facilities. Dr. L.M. Singhvi, learned counsel for the appellants made the following submission before us; The Begumbari land was statutorily vested in the Managing Committee of the Zoological Garden and that the Committee could not be di- vested by an executive decision without proper procedure being followed. The land could not be leased to the Taj Group of Hotels without inviting tenders from willing per- sons and without complying with the requirements of para- graphs 166 and 167 of the Land Manual. In taking a decision to take away the land from the Zoo and to lease the same to the Taj Group of Hotels, relevant considerations had been ignored and irrelevant considerations had been taken into account. The decision was taken without considering the impact on the Zoo and without consulting various interested authorities and institutions. Several authorities and institutions like the Director of the Zoo, the Managing Committee of the Zoo, the Public Undertakings Committee of West Ben- gal, the Indian Wild Life Board, leading ornithologists of the country, etc. had disapproved th ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ancial disadvantage of the Government. The matter had been considered at great length by the Committees of Secretaries appointed by the Government as well as by WEBCON and they had recommended the acceptance the nett sales arrangement in preference to the arrangement of rent based on land-cost. We are unable to agree with the submission of Dr. Singhvi, learned counsel for the appellants, that the Government of West Bengal decided to grant the lease of the Begumbari land to the Taj Group of Hotels without applying their mind to very important relevant considerations. Much of the argument on this question was based on the assumption that the decision to lease the Begumbari land to the Taj Group of Hotels was taken on February 12, 1981. The decision taken by the Cabinet on February 12, 1981 was merely to enter into negotiations with the I.T.D.C. and the Taj Group of Hotels in regard to leasing the Hastings House property and the Begumbari land. Negotiations with the I.T.D.C. did not fructify while negotiations with the Taj Group of Hotels fruitioned. It was on September 10, 1981 that the Cabinet finally took the decision to lease the Begumbari land to the Taj Group. If there was an ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ce has to be carefully chosen. After excluding Salt Lake and after considering some properties in Chowringhee, the Government felt that two properties, the Hastings House property and the Begumbari property could be thought of as meeting the requirements. Since the Hastings House property, was not found acceptable by the Taj Group, it was decided to negotiate with them in regard to construction of a Five-Star Hotel on the Begumbari land. We find it difficult to treat this decision to negotiate with the Taj Group in regard to construction of a Five-Star Hotel on the Begumbari land as a final decision to part with the land. The prominent use to which the land was evidently put at the time was as a dumping ground for refuse and rubbish and for growing fodder for elephants. This was noticed and mentioned in the note prepared for the consideration of the Cabinet and it was suggested that separate provision would have to be made for them. Therefore, it is clear that it was not forgotten that if the land was to be allotted to the Taj Group, separate provision would have to be made for whatever use the land was being put to them. The Government was not unmindful of the interests and requir ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... land might be made avail- able for the hotel. If four acres of land were given, he expressed the apprehension that the hospital and the dumping ground would have to be moved elsewhere. The hospital as we have already mentioned has since been conveniently and comfortably accommodated in a new building and the proposal is to move the dumping ground elsewhere. The Managing Committee of the Zoo also initially expressed its opposition to the proposal to construction hotel on land belonging to the Zoo. The Committee's objections were two-fold: (1) A muliti-storied building in the vicinity of the Zoo will disturb the animals and the ecological balance and will affect the bird migration (2) the land was already used for various purposes, that is, fodder cultivation, burial ground for animals, hospital, operation theatre, quarantine area, post- martom room and nursery. It would be impossible, according to the Committee to accommodate these essential services within the campus of the main Zoo. The objections of the Managing Committee were first brought to the notice of the Minister for Metropolitan Development who submitted a note to the Chief Minister pointing out that even if fou ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... land to the Taj Group of Hotels determined to give the land to them and with a mind closed to every- thing else. We cannot do so in the face of the assurance of the Chief Minister that facilities would be provided for the Zoo and if, as the saying goes, the proof of the pudding is in the eating, the Chief Minister's assurances are found reflected in the lease executed by the Taj Group of Hotels in favour of the Government of West Bengal. In Clause 25 of the lease dead, it is expressly stipulated that the lessee shall reconstruct the structures now existing on the demised land (as found in the sketch accompanying the deed) on the adjacent plot of land and that the plan, design, lay out, estimates, etc. of the proposed new structures should be supplied by the Alipur Zoological Garden to the lessee. The reconstructed structures were required to be equal be the existing ones in floor area, but it was open to them to increase the floor area by agreement. The amount expended by the lessee towards the reconstruction of the structures was to be adjusted without interest against the dues of the lessee to the Government. The Alipore Zoological Garden authorities were required to vacate t ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... for the appellants is sought to be drawn from the circumstance that neither of the two Cabinet Memoranda dated January 7, 1981 and September 9, 1981 referred to the migratory birds. It is wrong to think that everything that is not mentioned in the Cabinet Memoranda did not receive consideration by the Government. We must remember that the process of choosing and allotting the land to the Taj Group of Hotels took merely two years, during the course of which objections of various kinds were raised from time to time. It was not necessary that every one of these objections should have been mentioned and considered in each of the Cabinet Memoranda. The question of the migratory birds was first raised in the resolution of the Managing Committee dated June 11, 1981. This resolution was forwarded to the Chief Minister and considered by his as evident from the note of the Chief Minister and the subsequent reversal of the Managing Committee's resolution at the instance of the Chief Minster and on his assurances. The Chief Minister was certainly aware of the question of the migratory birds before it was finally decided to allot the Begumbari land to the Taj Group of Hotels. That the Gove ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ad which was also heavy did not bother the birds and the slight increase of the vehicular traffic consequent on the construction of the hotel was also not likely to bother them either. It was also pointed out that particular care would be taken in the matter of illumination of the hotel so that bright lights or neor signs emanating from the hotel would not disturb the birds and animals. The learned counsel for the appellants drew our attention to a letter written by Dr. Biswas to the Statesman dated August 3, 1982 in which he disowned having made any statement to a press correspondent by name, Bachi J Karkaria that the hotel posed no threat at all to the migratory flight path. He explained that what he meant to say was that migratory birds visiting the Zoo lake choose places to the east and south-east of the lake for nocturnal feeding and that their flight to the nocturnal feeding grounds in the marshes would be affected, if the proposed hotel was a high-rise building. Apart from the fact that he did not mention what he had in mind when he spoke of a high-rise building, the point made by Shri J.R.D. Tata in his letter to the Prime Minister that birds flying in or flying out had ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... a wrong premises. Later Mrs. Anne Wright appeared to be satisfied with what was finally done as evident from her letter dated November 19, 1983 to Mr. J.R.D. Tata, a copy of which has been placed before us. Bearing in mind the proper approach that we have to make when questions of ecology and environment are raised, an approach which we have mentioned at the outset, we are satisfied that the facts and circumstances brought out by the appellants do not justify an inference that the construction of the pro- posed hotel in the Begumbari land would interfere in any manner with the animals in the Zoo and the birds arriving at the Zoo or otherwise disturb the ecology: The proposed hotel is a Garden-hotel and there is perhaps every chance of the ecology and environment improving as a result of planting numerous trees all around the proposed hotel and the removal of the burial ground and dumping ground for rubbish. Dr. Singhvi cited before us the well known decisions of this Court in Rohtas Industries Ltd. v. S.D. Agarwal, [1969] SCR 108; Barium Chemicals v. A.G. Rana, [1972] 2 SCR 752 and Mohinder Singh Gill v. Central Election Commission, [1978] 2 SCR 273 to urge that even an administra ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ical Garden were not heard in the matter before the decision was taken. We do not think that anyone can have a justifiable grievance on this score. The proposal to lease the Begumbari land was public knowledge as we have seen. Such as those as were really interested in the matter like the Managing Committee of the Zoological Garden and the Director of the Zoo did have their say in the matter. The Public Undertakings Committee in its report discussed the matter and invited the Government's attention to various factors. The matter was further discussed on the floor of the Legislative Assembly. It is impossible to agree with the submission that there was any failure to observe principles of Natural Justice. One of the submissions of Dr. Singhvi, learned counsel for the appellants, was that the Bengal Public Parks Act, 1904 vested the Begumbari land in the Managing Committee of the Zoological Garden and that what had become statutorily vested in the Committee could not be divested by an executive fiat. We agree that an Act of the Legislature cannot be undone by a mere act of the executive. But what is the position here? Did the Act deal with the land at all? The Begumbari land w ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... enditure incurred by it on the construction of any building on the land. The further submission of Dr. Singhvi was that whatever might have been the terms of the grant in favour of the Zoological Garden, the Bengal Parks Act, 1904, vested the land in favour of the Zoological Garden and there was no way by which the Government could divest the Zoological Garden of the land except by a procedure known to the law such as acquisition or requisition. We are unable to find any substance in the argument. The Bengal Parks Act, 1904 was enacted to protect public parks and gardens in Bengal from injury and to secure the public from molestation annoyance while resorting to such parks and gardens. The Act was made applicable to the public parks and gardens mentioned in the schedule. The Zoological Garden, Alipore was one such park. Section 3 unables the State Government, by notification in the official Gazette to declare that any specified land, bridge or pontoon shall, for the purposes of this Act, be deemed to be included in any park. Section 4 enables the Government to make rules for the management, and preservation of any park, and for regulating the use thereof by the public. In pa ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ng to the Government. That procedure had to be observed. In any case, it was necessary either to held a public auction or to invite tenders atleast from the limited class of persons interested in utilising the land for the purpose for which the land was proposed to be transferred. The learned counsel invited our attention to several decisions of the court: Rash Bihari Panda v. State of Orissa, [1969] 3 SCR 374; R.D. Shetty v. International Airport Authority, [1979] 3 SCR 1014; Kasturi Lal Laxmi Reddy v. State of Jammu Kashmir, [1980] 3 SCR 1338; State of Haryana v. Jage Ram, [1983] 4 SCC 56; Ram Shyam Co. v. State of Haryana, [1985] 3 SCC 26 and Chenchu Rami Reddy v. Government of Andhra Pradesh, [1986] 3 SCC 391. The West Bengal Land Management Manual, 1977 is published under the authority of the Board of Revenue, West Bengal. Like similar volumes going by whatever name, published by the Boards of Revenue of other States, the West Bengal Land Management Manual also is compendium of (1) statutes and rules framed either by the Government or by the Board of Revenue pursuant to a statutory power conferred on them; (2) Orders issued by the Government from time to time; and (3) O ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ons, it effectively shut out all other persons carrying on trade in Kendu leaves and also new entrants into that business. It was, therefore, ex-facie discriminatory and imposed unreasonable restrictions upon the right of persons other than existing contractors to carry on business. It is to be seen that in the present case no one has come forward alleging that he has been discriminated against and his fundamental right to carry on business had been affected. The very nature of the construction and establishment of a Five Star Hotel is indicative of a requirement of expertise and sound financial position on the part of those who might offer to construct and establish them. The decision taken by the All-India Tourism Council was an open decision well-known to everyone in the hotel business. Yet no one except the I.T.D.C. and the Taj Group of Hotels had come forward with any proposal. We have it in the record that the Oberoi Group of Hotels already had a Five Star Hotel in Calcutta while the Welcome Group of Hotels were making their own Private negotiations and arrangements for establishing a Five Star Hotel. In the circumstances, particularly in the absence of any leading hoteliers ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... deration is not otherwise fit to be given the contract or the property. We have referred to those considerations only illustratively, for there may be an infinite variety of considerations which may have to be taken into account by the Government in formulating its policies and it is on a total evaluation of various considerations which have weighed with the Government in taking a particular action, that the Court would have to decide whether the action of the Government is reasonable and in public interest. But one basic principle which must guide the Court in arriving at its determination on this question is that there is always a presumption that the Governmental action is reasonable and in public interest and it is for the party challenging its valid- ity to show that is wanting in reasonableness or is not informed with public interest. This burden is a heavy one and it has to be discharged to the satisfaction of the Court by proper and adequate material. The Court cannot lightly assume that the action taken by the Government is unreasonable or without public interest because, as we said above, there are a large number of policy considerations which must necessarily weigh with ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... te the setting up of industries within the State. And again, If the State were giving tapping contract simpliciter there can be no doubt that the State would have to auction or invite tenders for securing the highest price, subject, of course, to any other relevant overriding considerations of public weal or interest. but in a case like this where the State is allocating resources such as water, power raw materials etc. for the purpose of encouraging setting up of industries within the State, we do not think the State is bound to advertise and tell the people that it wants a particular industry to be set up within the State and invite those interested to come up with proposals for the purpose. The State may choose to do so, if it thinks fit and in a given situation, it may even turn to be advantageous for the State to do so, but if any private party comes before the State and offers to set up an industry, the State would not be commit- ting breach of any constitutional or legal obligation if it negotiates with such party and agrees to provide resources and other facilities for the purpose of setting up the industry. The observations of the Court in the light of the facts t ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... inship, empathy, religious sentiment or limiting the choice to whom he may be willing to sell, may permit him to sell the property at a song and without demure. A welfare State as the owner of the public property has no such freedom while disposing of the public property. A welfare State exists for the largest good of the largest number more so when it proclaims to be a socialist State dedicated to eradication of poverty. All its attempt must be to obtain the best available price while disposing of its property because the greater the revenue, the welfare activities will get a fillip and shot in the arm. Financial constraint may weaken the tempo of activities. Such an approach serves the larger public purpose of expanding welfare activities primarily for which Constitution envisages the setting up of a welfare State. In Chenchu Rami Reddy v. Government of Andhra Pradesh (supra) it was observed that public officials entrusted with the care of 'public property' were required to show exemplary vigilance. The Court indicated that the best method of disposal of such property was by public auction and not by private negotiation. That was a case where land belonging to a Math ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... cretaries who went into the matter in depth. Even to lay persons like us who are no financial experts, it appears that the 'nett sales' method does and the rent-based-on-market-value method does not take into account the appreciating value of land, the inflationary tendency of prices and the profit orientation. Even on a prima facie, there appears to be nothing wrong or objection- able in the 'nett sales' method. It is profit oriented and appears to be in the best interests of the Government of West Bengal. On a consideration of all the facts and circumstances of the case, we are satisfied that the Government of West Bengal acted perfectly bona fide in granting the lease of Begumbari land to the Taj Group of Hotels for the construction of a Five-Star hotel in Calcutta. The Government of West Bengal did not fail to take into account any relevant consideration. Its action was not against the interests of the Zoological Garden or not in the best interests of the animal inmates of the zoo or migrant birds visiting the zoo. The financial interests of the State were in no way sacrificed either by not inviting tenders or holding a public auction or by adopting the ' ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... escribed by the learned Trial Judge as follows, in paragraph 130 of his Judgment: 130. Prayer for stay of the operation of this order is rejected. Because of the pendency of this matter, valuable time has been lost and may not have any further interest in the matter. They have suffered sufficient loss and the Govt. will also suffer loss. The public has also suffered. Accordingly, I am not inclined to stay this matter any further. I ought to point out further that as the petitioners obtained the interim order, obviously they were not interested in an early hearing of this matter and until a few months back no step was taken to have this matter heard. If a stay is granted, similar situation will follow. This public interest: litigation takes its birth, perhaps from the righteous indignation of the petitioners, against the State Government at their bartering away of four acres of land belonging to the Zoo to the Taj Group of Hotels. The writ petition is mainly based on the ground that the decision of the Government is arbitrary. The question to be answered is whether this accusation can be justified. On a perusal of the records I find that the State Government had made availab ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... State Government's decision to grant aforesaid four acres of land out of Begumbari Compound to India Hotel Co. Ltd., mainly on the ground that the same was unreasonable and arbitrary. The State Government did not apply its mind to relevant facts before disposing of the said valuable lands in discharge of the public interest. In their writ petition or in course of their submissions before us the appellants did not try to make out a case of personal malice against the State Government or its Ministers and Civil Servants ......... The Division Bench held that the decision taken was neither unreasonable nor arbitrary and that taking away of four acres of land from the Zoo was not detrimental to public interest. One would have thought that the concurrent decisions of the learned Single Judge and the Division Bench, on the facts of the case, would have persuaded the appellants, to rest content with the litigation by accepting the verdicts so given. They could have moved the Government or taken other steps to expedite the starting of an additional Zoo with a larger extent which the Government promised. But the appellants felt that public interest would be served better by mov ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ssion handed over to us a calculation, which according to me, betrays unawareness with the method of calculation to be adopted in similar cases. The calculation given to us so far as its arithmetic is concerned is correct. That is this. An amount of 4 crores, if deposited in bank, at a particular rate of compound interest, for 99 years, would swell to an astronomical figure. This calculation is relevant only when you think of selling the land and investing the sale proceeds in a bank. This calculation conveniently forgets that what is involved here is not the sale of the land but a lease by the Government, as a policy decision to the hotel group to start a Five Star Hotel, which according to the Government was a prime need to the city of Calcutta. The calculation handed over has no bearing to the facts of this case at all. A deal like this cannot be concluded by public auction. Here, we do not have a case, again, sale of a Government property. Therefore, public auction has necessarily to be ruled out. Only Taj Group of Hotels came forward with an offer to start the hotel. The lease was the culmination after a long, elaborate and open procedure with nothing to hide which therefor ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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