BHUBAN CHANDRA BARDHAN Vs. L A COLLECTOR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS appeal under Section 54 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 (in short 'the Act') has been filed by the claimant in L.A. Misc. Case No. 95 of 1993 of the Court of Civil kludge (Senior Division), Balasore as against the award passed on 28.9.1994.

(2.) THE undisputed fact available from the record is that in Revenue Department Notification No. 19110/R dated 24.4.1991 published in Orissa Gazette (Extraordinary) No. 600, dated 23.5.1991 an area of Ac. 1.339 decimals of land in Mouza Damodarpur within the Balasore Municipal limits was acquired for construction of approach road to the bridge of river Budhabalanga. An area of Ac.0.29 decimals of 'Bagayat' II land of the claimant from Plot No. 480 was acquired by the respondent, in that respect, the respondent assessed the compensation @ rupees two lakhs per acre. The claimant raised objection to such low valuation inter alia on the ground that the adjoining land acquired for the same purpose was valued by the respondent at rupees seven lakhs per acre and that the market price of the acquired land having the potency of homestead land was much more and above twenty lakhs per acre, in view of that objection, the matter was referred to the Civil Judge in accordance with the provision under Section 18 of the Act.

(3.) ON assessment of such evidence on record, Learned Civil Judge recorded the findings that the category of the acquired land, being noted in the Record of Right as Bagayat II whereas the category of the lands covered by the awards Exts. 9 and 10 are recorded as homestead land and therefore, the valuation fixed for homestead land cannot be adopted for the land of the claimant. Learned Civil Judge also recorded the finding that there is no worthy evidence on record to prove that the acquired land was developed to the homestead land by the date of acquisition and therefore, on the matter of valuation the same is not comparable with homestead land even if adjoining to get compensation on the basis of determination of valuation of the acquired land as Bagayat. So far as the Bagayat category of land is concerned, the respondent on the basis of sale statistics of the year 1989 fixed the price at rupees two lakhs per acre. By the date of Notification under Section 4 of the Act, about two years had elapsed and apart from that the acquired land, though a low lying land being adjacent to the homestead land, it should get at least, half the price of the homestead land and not below one third rate as determined by the respondent. Taking that view in the matter, Learned Civil Judge determined the market price of the acquired land at Rs. 3,75,000/ per acre because the value of homestead land was determined in Exts. 9 and TO at Rs. 7,50,000/ . So far as the claim of compensation for loss of Nim tree is concerned, Learned Civil Judge refused to consider the same because that was not a part of the reference.