HC questions conversion of PDKV land into parking lot

Nagpur: The Nagpur bench of Bombay high court on Monday raised concerns over the conversion of land belonging to Panjabrao Deshmukh Krishi Vidyapeeth (PDKV) at Futala into a parking plaza. The court ordered both PDKV and Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) to file their responses by May 6.
The issue was brought before the court in a PIL filed by an NGO, questioning the decision to repurpose 6,000 square metres of agricultural land for commercial and parking purposes. This followed a notification issued by NMC on March 28, which prompted the association to file an application. According to the application, a proposal was presented on February 19 to convert the land from agricultural to commercial use, a decision made under an administrative resolution.
In February, the high court had issued an interim order suspending the commercial use of land owned by PDKV on Amravati Road, Dabha, and other locations. It also instructed the secretary of the agriculture ministry and the university registrar to present an explanation regarding the repeated use of university lands for commercial purposes, despite restrictions.
However, the association claims that despite this order, NMC proceeded with the notification, triggering further objections. On April 2, the petitioner raised concerns with NMC's assistant director of urban planning but received no response, prompting them to approach the court.
The court has now directed the authorities to provide their explanations, considering the broader implications for land use and environmental protection.
Established in 1969, PDKV was set up to promote agricultural education and research. Since then, various lands were granted to the university for agricultural purposes. However, the state govt has long prohibited the use of these lands for non-agricultural or commercial activities. Orders were issued by the agriculture department in 2004 and 2011 to ensure the land's use for agricultural purposes only, with the stipulation that any non-agricultural use would require special approval.