GUNWANT KAUR Vs. IMPROVEMENT TRUST

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS order shall dispose of aforementioned six petitions filed by the land owners, challenging award dated 11.6.2002 (P-2) passed by the Land Acquisition Tribunal, Improvement Trust, Bathinda (for brevity, 'the Tribunal'). The petitioner(s) have sought enhancement amount of compensation of the acquired land.

(2.) FACTS of these petitions are that on 1.9.1993, a notification under Section 36 of the Punjab Town Improvement Act, 1922 (for brevity, 'the Act') was issued for acquisition of 49.50 acres of land for the development of a scheme known Rs.49.50 Acres Development Scheme', which was formulated by the Improvement Trust, Bathinda-respondent No. 1 (for brevity, 'the Trust') under Section 24 read with Section 28(2) of the Act. On 31.8.1994, another notification under Section 42(2) of was issued by the Punjab Government sanctioning a development scheme. Pursuant thereto land measuring 49.50 acres was acquired for the development of said Scheme. The Collector-respondent No. determined compensation for the acquired land in two blocks - at the rate of 20.52 lacs per acre (about Rs. 424/- per sq. yard) for gair mumkin and Rs. 8 lac per acre for barani land, vide award dated 29.8.1996. The Trust did not challenge the award but the land owners preferred reference to the Tribunal under the provisions of the Act. On 11.6.2002, the Tribunal passed the award holding that the entire land was required to be evaluated at a uniform rate of Rs. 20.52 lacs per acre (P-2). The findings of the Tribunal about the location and nature of the land reads thus :-

(3.) CIVIL miscellaneous applications have been filed in each case of the present bunch of petitions seeking disposal of the petitions. A perusal of the application shows that the award dated 11.6.2002 passed by the Tribunal was subject matter of challenge in a number of petitions which were grouped together. On 3.3.2009, a bunch of 134 petitions came up for consideration before the Division Bench including CWP No. 15326 of 2002 (Bhikam Singh and another v. The District Judge, Bathinda and others) being the lead case. The Division Bench (of which one of us, Jitendra Chauhan, J. was a member) affirmed the award passed by the Tribunal and dismissed the writ petitions vide order dated 3.3.2009, by observing as under :-