S.B. Sinha,J. - (1.) The petitioner in the instant writ application is a rate payer in the Bidhannagar Municipality and is also an elected Councillor in Ward No. 3 of the said Municipality.
(2.) The petitioner has by this application, sought to espouse the cause of the rate payers of the Bidhannagar Municipality (Salt Lake City) and challenge the validity of the Notification issued by the Central Valuation Board, West Bengal dated 30th June, 1998 whereby it was communicated to the owners and/or occupiers that a valuation list has been prepared and that the same will become operative with effect from 1st July, 1998. The relevant portion of the impugned Notification is extracted hereinbelow:- "Notice is hereby given under the amended Section 11 of the West Bengal Central Valuation Board Act 1978 (West Bengal Act LVII of 1978) that the valuation list in respect of lands and buildings in Bidhannagar Municipal area except Mahishbathan in Ward No. 14, Ward No. 22 and 23 in the district of North 24-Parganas has been duly prepared. The annual valuation of holdings as entered in the list will become operative with effect from the 1st July, 1998 as appointed by the State Govt. under sub-section (2) of Section 9 of the West Bengal Central Valuation Board Act, 1978."
(3.) It is the submission of the petitioner that the valuation has been made arbitrarily and is contrary to law in that flat rate method on per square feet basis per month has been adopted for the purpose of valuation of the land and buildings. Reliance in that behalf has been placed upon a Press Statement made by the Chairman of the Bidhannagar Municipality (Annexure 'G' to the supplementary affidavit affirmed on 3.9.98). It is the submission of the petitioner that the general valuation of land and building has been determined on the basis of 0.50 p. per square feet per month in the case of ordinary house and in case of other kinds of buildings at 0.18 p. per square feet and in case of commercial properties the maximum rate is 1.04 p. per sware feet per month.;