SPECIAL DEPUTY COLLECTOR-LAND ACQUISITION OFFICER, SRBC, KURNOOL DISTRICT Vs. KUNCHEPU VADDE LAKSHMI DEVI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This appeal is preferred by the Special Deputy Collector-cum-Land Acquisition Officer, Srisailam Right Branch Canal, Nandyal, Kurnool District, under Section 54 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894, aggrieved by the order and decree passed on 18.8.2011 in OP No. 337 of 2009 on the file of the II Additional Senior Civil Judge's Court, Nandyal. By a draft notification issued under sub-section (1) of Section 4 of the Land Acquisition Act, which was published in the Andhra Pradesh Gazette issue dated 25.8.2005, followed by publication in the newspapers of issue dated 28.8.2005, 657 structures/houses including 41 open sites of a total extent of 45,481.50 Square meters of Cherlopalle Village, Owk Mandal have been acquired for a public purpose, namely construction of Owk Reservoir Complex Phase-II. The Land Acquisition Officer-cum-Special Deputy Collector, S.R.B.C., Kurnool, inspected all the buildings alongwith the Deputy Executive Engineer, Deputy Inspector of Survey and Special Surveyors prior thereto, between 27.7.2005 to 30.7.2005. Thus, after a careful enumeration and inspection of the structures, the process of land acquisition has been initiated. Again, the Land Acquisition Officer has undertaken a joint inspection between 15.5.2006 to 17.5.2006 alongwith the Executive Engineer, SRBC Division-II, Owk. After verifying each structure, the plinth area occupied by it, the age of the structure etcetera, have been noted down in detail. But however, the Executive Engineer, S.R.B.C. Division, Owk has not submitted the estimates regarding the value of the structures to the Land Acquisition Officer. Then, the Collector and District Magistrate, Kurnool, has taken up the issue with the Superintending Engineer, Roads & Buildings Department, Kurnool for preparation and submission of estimates within a period of one month for the structures/houses which have been acquired. Accordingly, the Executive Engineer of the Roads & Buildings Department, Kurnool has submitted estimates to the District Collector, Kurnool for the structures and houses of Cherlopalle which were acquired. Those estimates prepared by the Executive Engineer, R & B Department, Kurnool District were furnished to the Executive Engineer, S.R.B.C. Division, Owk, Kurnool District for verification and counter signature. The Executive Engineer, S.R.B.C. Division, Owk returned the estimates prepared by the Executive Engineer, R & B Department, without accepting the same on the ground that there was variation with regard to the plinth areas mentioned in the draft notification issued under Section 4(1) and the declaration published under Section 6. The Executive Engineer, S.R.B.C. Division, Owk, has also objected to accept the estimates prepared by the R & B Department on the ground that those estimates are prepared based on municipal standard norms, whereas, Cherlopalle is a village. Subsequently, the Executive Engineer, S.R.B.C. Division, Owk prepared the estimates adopting Standard Schedule Rates (SSR) for the year 2006-2007 and furnished the same to the Land Acquisition Officer. The total estimated value of the structures was arrived at by the Executive Engineer, S.R.B.C. Division, Owk at Rs. 8,70,84,022/-. The Land Acquisition Officer, in the process of making his Award No. 10/2006-07, which was passed on 31.3.2007, discarded completely the estimates prepared by the R & B Department and went by the estimates prepared by the Executive Engineer, S.R.B.C. Division, Owk and passed an award fixing the market value in a sum of Rs. 8,70,84,022/-. This valuation did not include the value of the site on which the structures are standing and the site value was assessed separately. Since the Sub-Registrar, Owk has informed the value of the house sites at Rs. 155/- per Sq.yd, the Land Acquisition Officer has worked out accordingly the rate per Sq.mtr as Rs. 185/- and hence, the market value for the house site was fixed at the rate of Rs. 185/- per Sq.mtr.

(2.) The Land Acquisition Officer has conducted the award enquiry on 21st and 23rd of March, 2007, duly furnishing a notice of 15 days time. At that stage, the claimants requested for enhancing the estimated value of each house, as determined by the Executive Engineer, S.R.B.C. Division, Owk, by 50%, so that, a consent award can be passed. Reacting favourably to this request of the claimants, the Land Acquisition Officer has submitted necessary proposals to the District Collector, Kurnool, for enhancing the estimated value by 50%. However, the proposal of the Land Acquisition Officer has been rejected by the District Collector. Hence, the Land Acquisition Officer went ahead and passed his Award No. 10/2006-07 dated 31.3.2007.

(3.) Not satisfied with the same, the claimants sought for a reference under Section 18 of the Land Acquisition Act, to be made to the civil Court. That is how the II Additional Senior Civil Judge's Court at Nandyal, Kurnool District came to entertain OP No. 337 of 2009.