Deemed Permission Cannot Override Eco-Sensitive Zone Curbs: Rajasthan High Court Upholds Sajjangarh Demolition Orders

The petitioners ran or were building hotels and resorts near the Sajjangarh Wildlife Sanctuary, whose eco-sensitive zone was notified on 13.02.2017 (paras 1-2). One petitioner, whose resort dated from 2009, applied in 2022 to extend it and, when the authority did not decide in time, claimed deemed permission under Section 17 of the Udaipur Development Authority Act, 2023 and built (paras 2-3). The UDA issued show-cause notices and then ordered sealing and demolition under Section 32 of the Act (paras 5, 64). The petitioners relied on existing-resort status under the Zonal Master Plan, parity with regularised neighbours and the Kanha Hotels ruling (paras 6-8).

The real question was whether the construction could lawfully be raised at all near the sanctuary (para 46). A general development power cannot be exercised against a specific environmental prohibition, and deemed permission cannot turn a prohibited activity into a permitted one (paras 47-48). The properties lie within one kilometre of the sanctuary (para 49). Relying on Vellore Citizens' Welfare Forum, Hanuman Laxman Aroskar, M.C. Mehta v. Kamal Nath and Intellectuals Forum, the Court held that the precautionary principle and the public trust doctrine require private commercial interest to yield (paras 50-53, 62-63). Parity with other regularised buildings is negative equality, which Article 14 does not recognise (paras 54, 59). Kanha Hotels was distinguished because it rested on a continuous chain of approvals (paras 55, 68). Following Friends Colony, Esha Ekta, Priyanka Estates and Kaniz Ahmed, investment and completed work cannot legitimise unauthorised construction (paras 57-61). A notice and the reply considered satisfied natural justice (para 64).