DILDAR SINGH Vs. STATE OF CHHATTISGARH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) In this civil revision under Section 115 of Code of Civil Procedure read with Section 18 (3) of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 (as amended in the State of M.P./C.G.), the petitioner has called in question the order passed by the Additional District Judge (F.T.C.) Ranker on 31/01/2004 and the order of Collector, Kanker passed on 3/11/1999 rejecting his application purportedly filed under Section 18 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 (henceforth 'the Act'). Facts of the case, briefly stated, are that the respondent/State acquired agricultural lands belonging to private holders for construction of Dorde Irrigation Tank. From the record made available by learned State counsel it would appear that the land acquisition proceedings was initiated on 12/11/1984 on the application submitted by the Executive Engineer of the Irrigation Department, Kanker on 20th January, 1984. It appears from the record that the notification under Section 4 and 6 was published on 12/10/1985 and thereafter award was prepared and approved by the Collector on 29/04/1987. In this award a sum of Rs. 14962.64 paise was granted as compensation for lands and an amount of Rs. 43320.20 paise was granted as compensation for the trees standing on the land. The record also contains an application signed by the applicant addressed to the Irrigation Department that the trees standing on his land may not be acquired as he wishes to hand over the trees to a private contractor and that he does not desire to obtain compensation of the trees from the department. Thus, the award was passed without acquiring the trees as the petitioner desired to dispose of the trees of his own.

(2.) The petitioner later on moved an application on 1/12/1987 (Annexure P-2) inter-alia stating that the private contractor who was engaged by the petitioner for cutting of the trees, was not allowed to cut trees because the said arrangement was stopped under the orders of the State Government and that now he should also be granted compensation for the trees which existed on his land. Another application dated 14/12/1987 (Annexure P-5) was moved by the petitioner before the Sub Divisional Officer. Repeated pursuance of the petitioner finally led to passing of an order by the Collector on 20th August 1998 which is, in fact, in the form of memorandum issued from the office of Collector, Bastar to the Sub Divisional Officer, Revenue, Bhanupratappur informing that the application for compensation for trees has been filed. In the record, inspection reports are available in which it is mentioned that since the area in which the trees were standing have submerged, counting is not possible meaning thereby that the trees were standing on the land acquired for construction of tank which was the subject matter of the first acquisition of the year 1984 in which award was passed on 29/04/1987.

(3.) There is yet another land acquisition proceeding drawn for acquisition of land for construction of canal emanating from the irrigation tank which was subject matter of the first acquisition.