SUCHARITA ROY Vs. STATE OF WEST BENGAL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner prays for issuance of writ in the nature of mandamus directing the respondent authorities to pay compensation at the present market value along with solatium and admissible interest upon declaring the land in question has already been acquired and utilised by the respondents.

(2.) The petitioner claims to be the owner of 23 decimals of land situated in mouza- Uttar Latabari, Khatian No. 409/1, R.S Dag No. 299 under Police Station Kalchini in Jalpaiguri. The petitioner was asked by the respondent authorities to submit relevant documents relating to her title and possession for acquisition of the property under the project Uttar Latabari Water Supply Scheme and submitted the said documents on 3/1/2012 accordingly. The petitioner was dispossessed from the land prior to issuance of notification under Sec. 4(1) of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 and has been deprived of her right to property as enshrined under Article 300 A of the Constitution of India. The land has already been utilised by the State Government for the Water Supply Scheme but no compensation was paid to the petitioner for the same.

(3.) Learned counsel for the petitioner has drawn the attention of the Court to the application made by the requiring body for acquisition of the land which reveals that the estimated total quantum of land to be acquired was 0.23 acres and the estimated cost of land acquisition was Rs.56.35 lakhs. The letter issued by the Executive Engineer, Jalpaiguri Division to the Joint Secretary, Government of West Bengal, Land and Land Reforms Department on 14/7/2015 indicates that the scheme was already complete on that date. The market value of the land appears to be Rs.60,26,000.00 as in the year 2016. Learned counsel has taken this Court to the affidavit submitted by the Executive Engineer, Alipurduar Division of the Public Health Engineering Department which demonstrates that the land utilised for the scheme belong to the petitioner. Annexure R-5 to the affidavit records the names of the members of the beneficiary committee for the scheme which does not include the petitioner, the petitioner therefore not being aware of the committee or the details of the scheme at all. The Pradhan of Latabari Gram Panchayat, one of the members of the beneficiary committee, apprised the Executive Engineer vide memo dtd. 13/10/1999 that the land in question was owned by the petitioner the beneficiaries were responsible for contributing towards the share of the capital cost of the scheme and not for providing land, as appears from the letter dtd. 5/6/2002 issued by the Deputy Secretary (Technical) to the Government of West Bengal to the Chief Engineer, Northern Zone, PHE Department, Government of West Bengal.