Madras High Court
B. Duraisamy vs The Tamil Nadu Electricity Board on 22 June, 2021
W.P.No.11742 of 2004
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT MADRAS
DATED : 22.06.2021
CORAM
THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE M.GOVINDARAJ
W.P.No.11742 of 2004
B. Duraisamy ... Petitioner
Vs.
1. The Tamil Nadu Electricity Board,
Rep. by its Cheif Engineer (Personal),
800, Anna Salai, Chennai - 2.
2. The Superintendent Engineer (Civil),
Mettur Thermal Power Station,
Mettur Dam. ... Respondents
PRAYER: The Writ Petition has been filed under Article 226 of the
Constitution of India praying to issue a Writ of Certiorarified Mandamus,
to call for the records relating to the order dated 07.08.2001 passed by the
second respondent in Letter No.SE/C/MTPS/Ni-Aa/MTPS/Ko.Velaivaippu/
Survey No.16/A.No.349/2001, quash the same and direct the respondents to
provide employment to the petitioners son for having acquired the patta
lands belonging to the petitioner family.
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For Petitioner : Mr.V.Ajay Khose
For Respondents : Mr.Anand Gopalan
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ORDER
The present Writ Petition is directed against the rejection of
request for employment under the category of displaced person during
acquisition of lands for the respondents' project.
2. As per the Board Proceedings of the respondents, whenever
there is acquisition of land for their projects, the displaced persons shall be
given employment for rehabilitating themselves due to sudden
displacement. The respondents have issued acquisition notification in the
year 1986 for the purpose of the project called Lower Ash Dumping Power
Project. Since there were certain problems, they have issued a Board
Proceedings vide B.P.Ms.(FB) No.87, dated 26.09.1986, wherein the
condition that if a member of the family is already having an employment,
this assistance cannot be extended was relaxed. As a special case, in the
above-said Board Proceedings, the respondents have provided employment
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to those people, where their family is having one earning member. This is
specific to 289 families, who suffered by the land acquisition for Lower Ash
Dumping Area Power Project. Thereafter, the Government issued a
notification under Section 4(1) of Land Acquisition Act, vide
G.O.Ms.No.2386, dated 30.19.1986 for the purpose of acquiring land for
Ash Dumping Area of respondents' for the other Project. The petitioner had
also applied for employment under the category of displaced persons after a
period of 12 years. However, it was rejected on the ground that the
petitioner was employed as Assessor in TNEB and therefore, he is not
entitled to the employment under this category. Further, the claim of the
petitioner that he shall be given the benefits of B.P.Ms.(FB) No.87, dated
26.09.1986, was also denied on the ground that it is specific to the land
acquired for Lower Ash Dumping Area and pertains only to the 289 families
and not to the subsequent acquisition.
3. It is stated by the respondents that the subsequent acquisition
made, wherein the lands of the petitioner were acquired, will attract only the
general instructions, where there is an embargo for giving employment to
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the persons, who are already in employment. Challenging the rejection
order, the petitioner has approached this Court on the ground of violation of
equalities under Article 14 and 16 of the Constitution of India as well as
discrimination.
4. I have heard the submissions made by the learned counsel
appearing on either side.
5. On perusal of the materials placed before this Court, it is
very clear that B.P.Ms.(FB) No.87, dated 26.09.1986 is specific to the
acquisition made by the respondents for the power project for the Lower
Ash Dumping Area. The petitioner does not fall within this acquisition and
therefore, as rightly contended by the learned counsel for the respondents,
B.P.Ms.(FB) No.87, dated 26.09.1986 will not apply to the case of the
petitioner. In other words, the special concession provided to the families,
which already had an earning member cannot be extended to the present
acquisition, by which, the petitioner has lost his lands.
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6. Secondly, the condition that where an earning member is
already there, employment cannot be given, cannot also be relaxed as it will
open the floodgates and will create a situation, where equals are treated
unequally.
7. In a similar situation, the Hon'ble Division Bench of this
Court in W.A.No.58 of 2018 [The Tamil Nadu Generation and
Distribution Corporation Limited and another Vs. R.Karthikeyan and
others] dated 24.08.2018 has upheld the very same Board Proceedings that
has been applied to 289 families.
8. In yet another judgment reported in 2004 (4) LLN 163
[Chairman, Tamil Nadu Electricity Board, Chennai and another Vs.
Arulnathan and others], the Hon'ble Division Bench of this Court has held
that a displaced person does not have any fundamental right to employment
on the ground of acquisition. Therefore, I do not find any reason to interfere
with the impugned order.
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9. However, the learned counsel for the petitioner would
submit that the petitioner has materials to show that similarly placed persons
were given the benefits of concession as given in B.P.Ms.(FB) No.87, dated
26.09.1986. If that is so, it is open to the petitioner to submit a fresh
representation along with substantiating documents to get the benefits
within a period of two (2) weeks from the date of receipt of a copy of this
order. On such representation being submitted, the respondents are directed
to consider the same on merits and pass appropriate orders in accordance
with law within a period of six (6) weeks from the date of receipt of the
representation.
With the above directions, the Writ Petition is disposed of.
There shall be no order as to costs.
22.06.2021
asi
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To
1. The Cheif Engineer (Personal),
800, Anna Salai, Chennai - 2.
2. The Superintendent Engineer (Civil),
Mettur Thermal Power Station,
Mettur Dam.
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M. GOVINDARAJ, J.
asi
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