PREETAM SINGH Vs. STATE OF U P

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioners' land was compulsorily acquired vide notification under Section 4 (1) /17 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 (the Act) published in the official gazette on 15.12.1999; and newspapers in 'Vartman Ankur' and 'Dainik Hind' on 1.1.2000 and 6.1.2000 respectively. The notification under Section 6/17 of the Act was published in the official gazette on 22.4.2000, and in the same newspapers in which the notification under Section 4 was published, on 28.4.2000, and also by publication for general public on 20.5.2000. By these 24 connected writ petitions they have prayed for calling for the records, and issuing writs of mandamus commanding the Collector, Distt. Gautam Budh Nagar, to pay to them compensation at the current rate of Rs. 850/- per sq. mtr. and all other benefits with higher rate of interest under the Act and also the interest, in accordance with the judgment in Sunder v. Union of India, (2001) 7 SCC 211 and Karnataka Electricity Board v. State of Karnataka and others, (2002) 3 SCC 141.

(2.) We have heard Shri A. Prasad, learned counsel for the petitioners. Shri M.C. Tripathi, Addl. Chief Standing Counsel assisted by Shri Bal Krishna and Ram Krishna, Standing Counsels appear for the State. Shri Ramendra Pratap Singh appears for Greater Noida.

(3.) The information supplied to us by the Special Land Acquisition Officer, Gautam Budh Nagar through the Standing Counsels and made part of the record shows that beginning with 26.11.1993 the State Government acquired the land for planned industrial development, by Greater Noida Industrial Development Authority in Distt. Gautam Budh Nagar, established under the U.P. Industrial Development Act, 1976. Four notifications under Section 4/17 of the Act were published on 26.11.1993, 21.12.1993, 22.12.1993 and 29.12.1993 including lands of villages Haldawana, Namauli, Kashna, Choorharpur Khadar respectively. The notifications under Section 6 of the Act for these villages were published in the year 1994 and the possession was transferred in the year 1994-95. Under the U.P. Land Acquisition (Determination of Compensation and Declaration of Award by Agreement) Rules, 1997 the development authority proposed the compensation of land at the rates of Rs. 50; Rs. 66.39; Rs. 40.15; Rs. 66.39 in 1993 for these four villages respectively. The farmers raised their demands for increasing the compensation, on which a uniform compensation at the rate of Rs. 184/- per sq. mtr. was worked out by award under Section 11 (2) of the Act dated 20.8.1999, and was accepted by the farmers.