ASHWANI KUMAR Vs. STATE OF PUNJAB

JUDGEMENT

(1.) PETITIONERS are the heirs of Bhagat Ram. Some land owned by Bhagat Ram was notified for acquisition in the year 1951 for Nangal Hydel Channel. This declaration was followed by notification Under Section 6 of the Land Acquisition Act. Compensation therefore was assessed by the Collector and distributed to the owners.

(2.) FROM the correspondence placed on record it seems that some land owned by the predecessors of the petitioners and others remained unutilised after carrying out the Project for which it was acquired. The Executive Engineer Nangal Dam Division, Nangal Township by his letter dated 7. 3. 1995, Annexure P-4 addressed to the Sub Divisional Magistrate, Anand Sahib informed that 86. 31 acres of land in village Donala was acquired. Similarly, another land measuring 92-68 acres of village Naagli was also acquired and that at present this land is no longer required by the Bhakra Beas Management Board and the same has already been proposed for being declared surplus and it is to be surrendered to the Collector District Ropar on book value for its transfer to the original owners, it being no longer required. It is in this backdrop the petitioners started claiming de-notification of this land on payment of compensation received by them under acquisition proceedings.

(3.) DURING the course of hearing, learned counsel for the petitioners submitted that once the land which was acquired by the State Government for a particular Project is not needed by it and has been rendered surplus, a direction in the nature of mandamus deserves to be issued to the respondent-State to de-notify the land and surrender it to the original owners on re-deposit of the amount of compensation received by them.