BHAGMAL Vs. STATE OF U.P. &ORS.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) HEARD Shri U.N. Sharma, Senior Advocate assisted by Shri Kamal Singh Yadav; Shri D.S. Pandey and Shri Manvendra Nath Singh, learned counsels for the petitioners. Learned standing counsel appears for state respondents. Shri A.S. Rana had accepted notice on behalf of U.P. Avas Evam Vikas Parishad. Shri C.S. Singh and Shri Madan Mohan have appeared and made submissions on behalf of Parishad.

(2.) BY these writ petitions, the petitioners have challenged the proceedings for acquisition of land in Villages Agraula, Lutfullapur, Nabada, Masudabad-Bamla, Milk Bamla, Mandola, and Nanu, in Pargana Loni, District Ghaziabad by notifications under Sections 28 and 32 (1) of U.P. Avas Evam Vikas Parishad Adhiniyam 1965 (in short 'the Adhiniyam). They have also prayed for exemption of their respective Khasra numbers from the scheme.

(3.) THE petitioners filed their objections and appeared before the 'Niyojan Samiti' constituted for hearing the objections. It is stated that in response to the notice dated 15.7.2002 the petitioners submitted their grievance and produced all the relevant documents before the Executive Engineer of the Parishad on 31.7.2002. They submitted that previously their ancestors were residing in Village Milk Bamla. Due to floods in river Yamuna, the whole locality of Milk Bamla was got vacated by the State Government and the villagers purchased land in village Panchlok and constructed their residential houses. All the petitioners have their pucca houses, surrounded by boundary walls and cattle sheds on the land. The vacant land is used as sahan land. Village Panchlok is a hamlet of village panchayat Mandola. The Parishad, it is alleged by the petitioners, without giving adequate hearing to the petitioners and deciding their objections, published notification under sub section (1) of Section 32 of the Adhiniyam, exercising powers under sub section (2) of Section 31, and the approval of the scheme notified under Section 28 on 19.9.1998, by the State Government by its order dated 27.8.2007, in the Official Gazette U.P. on 27.10.2007. The list of the plots bearing to their Khasra numbers, total area in bighas, hectares and the area acquired in the plot in hectares was given in detail in the notification. The reasons, for which some of the areas in the plots was exempted, was mentioned against each plot. The land recorded as religious places and the land in occupation of National Power Grid Corporation was exempted from acquisition.