STATE OF MAHARASHTRA Vs. SHASHIKANT BHAGWANT JADHAV

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE Regional Development Plan for Aurangabad was sanctioned vide notification dated 20/03/1971 by the Government of Maharashtra and it was amended by notification dated 30/10/1972 and 3/02/1973. By a notification dated 4/05/1973 the Government of maharashtra was pleased to appoint the City and Industrial Development corporation of Maharashtra Ltd. (CIDCO) as the Special Planning Authority for the Aurangabad new township under s. 40 (l) (b) read with s. 113 of the maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act, 1966 (the M. R. T. P. Act, for short ). The CIDCO carried out survey and prepared a draft proposal for the development plan by publishing it in the Maharashtra Government Gazette dated 24/05/1973 as per the provisions of s. 40 (3) (d) of the M. R. T. P. Act and the same was approved by the State Government. It approached the collector, Aurangabad vide letter dated 8/05/1985 with a request to initiate the land acquisition proceedings under the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 (Land Acquisition Act, for short) read with s. 126 of the M. R. T. P. Act and, in turn, the Collector entrusted the proposal to the Land Acquisition officer vide his letter dated 29/05/1985. A notification under s. 6 of the land Acquisition Act read with s. 126 (4) of the M. R. T. P. Act was submitted to the Collector for his approval, which was granted by the Collector on 2 9/09/1986. The said notification was published in the Government gazette dated 1/01/1987 and. in the local newspapers at Aurangabad on 1/01/1987 (Aurangabad Times) and 3rd January, 1987 (Daily lok Vijay ).

(2.) NOTICES were served on the land owners under s. 9 (3) of the Land acquisition Act on or about 10/06/1987 and, in reply, they had submitted their claim for compensation at the rate of Rs. 10/- per square foot on or about 22/06/1987 and the said claim was supported by ten sale instances in respect of the lands in the neighbouring areas. Award at exh. 46 came to be passed by the Land Acquisition Officer on 1 4/12/1988 and the compensation at the rate of Rs. 1,20,000/- per hectare (Rs. 48,000/- her Acre), which come to about Rs. 1. 20 ps. per square foot, was granted in respect of the following lands from village satara, which were part of the development plan. <FRM>JUDGEMENT_105_BLR2_2004Html1.htm</FRM>

(3.) WE are concerned with the land in Gat Nos. 121 and 122 of village satara, in these appeals. The compensation amount was paid on or about 21/12/1988 and possession of the land was handed over on the same day. While receiving the compensation amount, under protest, the claimants submitted applications for higher compensation at the rate of Rs. 30/- per square foot. The claims were received by the Reference Court on 7/03/1989 and they came to be registered as L. A. R. Nos. 27 to 32 of 1989. The Reference Court clubbed all these six references together and by a common award dated 6/04/1993 granted compensation at the rate of Rs. 5/- per square foot with interest under s. 28 of the Acquisition Act. Being aggrieved by the higher compensation granted by the common order, the State Government, along with CIDCO has filed First Appeal Nos. 347 to 352 of 1993 and the claimants, on the other hand, have filed Appeal Nos. 450 of 1994, 762 of 1997, 364 of 1998 and 96 of 2003. The claimants stated that once the Reference Court had arrived at the market price of the subject land at the rate of Rs. 20/- per square foot, it ought to have deducted about 30% amount towards development charges and fixed the net compensation payable at the rate of Rs. 14/- per square foot rather than fixing the compensation at l/4th of the market value determined by the Reference Court and that too without giving any reasons. The challenge by the claimants, thus, is to the limited extent on this point alone viz. whether it was permissible for the Reference Court to bring down the compensation payable to them to 25% of the market price determined by it.