Jharkhand News : In a landmark judgment, the Jharkhand High Court has settled the long-standing jurisdictional conflict between the Jharkhand Panchayati Raj Act and the Jharkhand Regional Development Authority (JRDA/RRDA) Act. The Court has ruled that in rural areas, where the Panchayati Raj Act is in force, the powers of Gram Panchayats will prevail, and provisions of the JRDA Act that conflict with these powers will be considered “impliedly repealed.”
The case arose when petitioners, who had purchased land in Sidraul village under Namkum block, obtained building plan approval from the Gram Panchayat and constructed houses as per rules. Several years later, the RRDA initiated action, claiming that the petitioners had not obtained mandatory prior approval under Section 30 of the JRDA Act, and ordered demolition of the buildings.
Challenging this decision, the petitioners approached the High Court. The matter was heard by the bench of Justice Deepak Roshan. Appearing for the petitioners, advocate Kumar Harsh argued that the Panchayati Raj Act expressly grants Gram Panchayats the authority to approve rural housing and building plans, making JRDA’s parallel control invalid in such areas.
In its detailed judgment, the High Court observed that Panchayats must not be viewed merely as agencies executing state government policies but as empowered third-tier governments, responsible for local economic development and social justice. Therefore, the power to grant building plan sanctions in rural areas lies with the Panchayats.
The court further said that allowing two parallel authorities to regulate the same activity—building permissions—would lead to administrative conflict. Hence, after the enforcement of the Panchayati Raj Act, any inconsistent provisions of the JRDA Act, especially Section 30, stand implicitly void in rural areas.
The court concluded that the RRDA has no authority to approve or reject building plans in Panchayat regions like Sidraul, and there is no requirement for separate JRDA approval under Section 30. Accordingly, the buildings constructed by the petitioners cannot be termed illegal.
This verdict restores the exclusive authority of Panchayats over building approvals in rural Jharkhand and is expected to influence numerous similar cases across the state.
