SHARNAPPA V. PATRIKA Vs. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) ALL these three petitions challenge the validity of the land acquisition proceedings in connection with what has come to be known as 'the Lower Terna Project,' The notification under Section 4 of the Land Acquisition Act Was issued on December 13, 1981 and the notification recited that the Additional Commissioner, Aurangabad Division, was of the opinion that acquisition of the lands notified was urgently necessary and he further directed under Section 17(4) of the Land Acquisition Act that the provisions of 5A of the said Act shall not apply in respect of the said lands. The same notification also recited that if the Additional Commissioner, Aurangabad Division, was satisfied that the said lands were needed for the purpose specified in the notification, a final notification to that effect under Section 6 of the Land Acquisition Act will be published in the Maharashtra Government Gazette. The public purpose stated in the said notification is 'Lower Terna Project quarry and dam site village Lohta and Hasalgaon Tq. Ausa'. A notification under Section 6 of the Land Acquisition Act in respect of the lands in dispute came to be published on February 20, 1983. There was a corrigendum to the notification under Section 4 published in Maharashtra Government Gazette dated December 16, 1982 rectifying the mistake relating to the number and the area of two fields so far as the petitioner in Writ Petition No. 335 of 1983 was concerned. It is not in dispute that the notification under Section 6 of the Land Acquisition Act correctly specified the numbers of the lands in question.

(2.) IT is necessary to briefly refer to certain facts relating to the implementation of the decision in regard to the Terna Major Irrigation Project in Osmanabad district. The Government of Maharashtra by resolution dated February 10. 1981 referred to the question of rapid development of under -developed region of Marathwada which, according to the resolution, had been engaging the attention of the Government. The resolution recites that with this end in view, the Government has announced special Measures programmers in relation to the felt needs of (this region and its specific problems. These measures and programmes were expressly mentioned in an annexure to this resolution. The Government Resolution further recites that the Government desires that these programmes should be implemented in a time -bound manner during the sixth Five Year Plan and the subsequent Five Year Plans, so that the relatively under -developed region of Marathwada is enabled to achieve a faster rate of growth and thereby attain optimum level of development, depending upon the resources, both natural and otherwise. By the same resolution Government constituted a Monitoring and Review Committee to monitor (the implementation of such programmes. The annexure to the resolution is itself headed as 'special programmes for the speedy development of the Marathwada region'. There are two irrigation projects mentioned in this annexure and item No. 2 reads as follows : - To speed up the projects like Nandur, Vishnupuri and Lower Terna which had almost come to a standstill during the period of the previous Government.

(3.) THE land acquisition proceedings which are challenged in Writ Petition No. 335 of 1983 relate to acquisition of survey Nos. 133 and 135 of village Hasalgaon. The first ground on which these proceedings are challenged by the petitioner is the ground of mala fide. Mr. Solshe who appears on behalf of the petitioners in all the three petitions, has referred us to the averments in paragraph 13 of the petition, because according to the learned Counsel, these averments spell out a plea of mala fide of the present Minister in charge of Irrigation who hails from Nilanga taluka and the contention is that the effect of this project is that about 43,000 acres of land in Nilanga taluka would come under irrigation, whereas the land estimated to be irrigated by the said major project in Omerga taluka was only about 5,000 acres. The averment is that the said Minister, therefore, is very much interested in pushing through the said major project so as to perpetuate his election to the State Legislature.