VITHAL V GAITONDE Vs. SPECIAL LAND ACQUISITION OFFICER

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THESE appeals arise from the Award passed by the learned Additional District Judge, South Goa, in Land Acquisition Case No.249/1993. By this Award dated 30th August, 2002, the learned Additional District Judge partly allowed the reference and fixed the rate of compensation in respect of the cashew garden land at Re.1/- per sq.mt. and also directed that the applicants be entitled for 30% solatium, but no additional compensation in terms of Section 23-A of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 (for short "the Act").

(2.) THE Government of Goa acquired an area of 2,97,57,000 sq. mts. of land located in nine different villages by publishing a Notification under Section 4 of the Act on 17th November, 1971. The Land Acquisition Officer passed the Award on 26th March, 1973. In the acquired land the present appellants lost about 26,550 sq. mts. of land and the categories of land so acquired from the appellants are as under:-

(3.) A number of land owners who had not otherwise moved an application under Section 18 of the Act thereafter approached the Special Land Acquisition Officer by filing an application under Section 28-A of the Act and the present appellants were one of such claimants. The Special Land Acquisition Officer by his Award dated 17th August, 1992, fixed the compensation rates as per the Award dated 12th October, 1990 passed by the learned District Judge, but so far as the present appellants' case regarding barad land and cashew land is concerned, he fixed the compensation at Rs.0.75p. per sq mt. The appellants, therefore, received the Award amount under protest and moved an application under Section 28-A(3) of the Act, for a reference. It was accordingly referred and came to be registered as Land Acquisition Case No.249/93.