The Allahabad High Court disposed of a writ petition against the inaction of the authorities in the disbursement of compensation against the acquisition of land for the purpose of construction of the National Highway. The court observed that the construction of National Highway-II between the aforesaid section of the road was completed without payment of compensation to the landholders.
Brief Facts:
The land in question was acquired for the construction of the National Highway widening of 2-lane to 4-lane NH-II, in the year 2015-2016. The notice under Section 3G (4) of the National Highway Act, 1956 was issued to the petitioners inviting their objections by the competent authority. The petitioners approached the competent authority and submitted the revenue papers to put forth their claim for disbursement of compensation.
The compensation for the acquisition of the plot in question was not determined by the competent authority. Hence, the aggrieved persons have approached the Court.
Contentions of the Petitioner:
The learned counsel for the petitioner contended that though the construction of the Highway has been completed, the compensation has not been provided to the petitioners despite the fact that they have been approaching the respondents for a long time.
Contentions of the Respondent:
The learned counsel for the Respondent submitted that under Section 3B of the National Highways Act pertaining to the power of survey, it is provided that after issuance of the notification under Section 3A, the survey would be conducted by the authorized officer appointed by the Central Government. For the declaration of award of the remaining 9 villages, a letter dated 09.12.2022 was issued by the competent authority to the Project Director NHAI to provide the valuation report.
The Counsel argued that since the valuation report has not been made available by the Project Director, NHAI, Kanpur, the award for the remaining 9 villages could not be declared.
Observations of the Court:
The Court observed that the authorities slept over the matter for more than 3 years after the notices were issued in the year 2018 and they were reactivated only when the present writ petition has been filed.
Further, the Court remarked that the landholders of village Bheekampur, the land subject matter of dispute, herein, along with 8 other villages, had been dispossessed/ deprived of their landed property and the construction of National Highway-II between the aforesaid section of the road has been completed without payment of compensation to them, which is nothing but a clear violation to the constitutional mandate under Article 300-A of the Constitution of India.
The decision of the Court:
The Allahabad High Court, disposing of the petition, held that the Principal Secretary (Revenue) U.P. Lucknow is to conduct an inquiry into the matter.
Case Title: Rajesh Chandra @ Rakesh And Another v State Of U.P. And 2 Others
Coram: Hon’ble Justice Rajnish Kumar
Case no.: WRIT - C No. - 34016 of 2022
Advocate for the Petitioner: Mr. Manoj Kumar Singh
Advocate for the Respondent: C.S.C., Neeraj Dube
Read Judgment @LatestLaws.com
Picture Source :
