SPECIAL LAND ACQUISITION OFFICER Vs. DILUBHA HEMUBHA CHUDASAMA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) ADMITTED . Mr.Nitin M.Amin, learned counsel, waives service of Notice on behalf of the claimant/ claimants in each Appeal. Having regard to the facts of the case, all the Appeals are taken up for final disposal today.

(2.) BY filing these Appeals under Section 54 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 ("the Act" for short), read with Section 96 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, the appellants have challenged the legality of the common judgment and award dated December 30, 2005, rendered by the learned 4th Additional Senior Civil Judge, Ahmedabad (R) at Navrangpura, in Land Acquisition Case Nos.1025/1998 to 1033/1998, by which, the claimants have been awarded additional amount of compensation at the rate of Rs.28.75 ps. per sq.mt. for their acquired lands over and above the compensation offered to be paid to them by the Special Land Acquisition Officer at the rate of Rs.1.05 ps. per sq.mt. for irrigated lands and Re.0.70 ps. per sq.mt. for non -irrigated lands, by his award dated June 7, 1996.

(3.) THE Executive Engineer, Narmada Canal Division No.2/5, Limdi, sent a proposal to the State Government to acquire the agricultural lands of village Timbla, Taluka: Dhandhuka, District: Ahmedabad, for the public purpose of construction of canal under the Narmada Project. On perusal of the said proposal, the State Government was satisfied that the lands of village Timbla, which were specified in the proposal, were likely to be needed for the said public purpose. Therefore, the notification under Section 4 of the Act was issued which was published in the official gazette on November 24, 1993. Thereafter, necessary inquiry, as contemplated by Section 5A(2) of the Act, was made by the Special Land Acquisition Officer and on the basis of report submitted by him, the State Government made declaration under Section 6 of the Act which was published in the official gazette on July 28, 1994. The interested persons were thereafter served with notices for determination of compensation payable to them. The claimants appeared before the Special Land Acquisition Officer and claimed compensation at the rate of Rs.30/ - per sq.mt. However, having regard to the materials placed before him, the Special Land Acquisition Officer offered compensation to the claimants at the rate of Rs.1.05 ps. per sq.mt. for irrigated lands and Re.0.70 per sq.mt. for non -irrigated lands, by his award dated June 7, 1996. The claimants were of the opinion that the offer of compensation made by the Special Land Acquisition Officer was totally inadequate. Therefore, they submitted applications under Section 18 of the Act requiring the Special Land Acquisition Officer to refer their cases to the court for the purpose of determination of just amount of compensation payable to them. Accordingly, References were made to the District Court, Ahmedabad (Rural) where they were numbered as Land Acquisition Case No.1025/1998 to 1033/1998.