New Delhi, March 21 :    New Delhi, March 21:  Construction activity throughout West Bengal will undergo a sea-change, following a Supreme Court ruling that fresh permission has to be obtained under the West Bengal Town and Country (Planning and Development) Act for any construction, extension, addition or alteration, despite earlier sanctions obtained under the West Bengal Panchayat Act. 'Sanction obtained from the panchayat, which ran contrary' to the Town and Country Act 'could not continue', said a three-judge bench of Justices V.N. Khare, Ashok Bhan and D.M. Dharmadhikari. The issue was brought to the apex court by Hotel Sea Gull, which had got permission under the Panchayat Act to build a five-storeyed building. But permission was not obtained under the Town and Country Act. A division bench of Calcutta High Court ruled against the hotel, which then moved the apex court. Senior counsel for the appellant K.K. Venugopal contended that a new law could not nullify the sanction obtained under the earlier Act. The Town and Country Act had come into force after the Panchayat Act. The Supreme Court disagreed. 'The case of the appellant is that they have obtained permission from the panchayat under the Panchayat Act and, therefore, permission continues to be valid even after the coming into force of the new Act. We do not agree,' it said. 'Any sanction obtained from the panchayat, which ran contrary to the interim provisions of the development plan under preparation, could not continue by reason only of the fact that permission, approval or sanction under any other law for the development had been obtained,' the bench said. 'Fresh approval was required to be taken. Otherwise, it would be a negation of provisions of' the new Act, it ruled. The apex court added that, from April 1, 2002, applications should be made under the new law for construction, addition, alteration, extension or similar development activity on a land or on existing structures. On failure to apply for permission, the authority shall be free to proceed according to law, including demolition of built area, cancelling of lease and other methods normally adopted by the authority in cases of illegal construction, the judges added. The applicant would have to pay development charges assessed by the authority. Senior officials of the West Bengal urban development department and the Calcutta Municipal Development Authority welcomed the ruling, saying it would help check mushrooming of illegal buildings, adds our staff reporter. The Act determines zones where structures could come up. 'The Act ensures safe and sound constructions,' a senior CMDA official said. 'No one can just obtain permission from anywhere and construct a building by merely leaving four feet open space around it,' he added.