RENU DEVI Vs. N T P C LIMITED

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This matter was heard on Thursday last. A Thermal Power Station was planned to be established at Kahalgaon district Bhagalpur. This Thermal Power Station was to be established by the National Thermal Power Corporation. For this purpose, in April 1985, lands were acquired at Kahalgaon, Bhagalpur by the State of Bihar. Ordinarily when powers are utilised under the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 then to mitigate the circumstances compensation is paid under the Act and further mitigating damages like solatium, interest etc. Not to be ignored is an aspect that when the land is acquired under the Act the State utilises its sovereign powers to (a) acquire the land and (b) consequentially, dispossess those whose land is acquired. The payment of compensation is the necessary corollary. In short this completes the process of acquisition to allow the public plan for public purpose being executed on the acquired land. If this alone was the concluded exercise then there would be no issue in the present case.

(2.) In the process of acquisition of land for setting up a Thermal Power Station at Kahalgaon, District Bhagalpur, a public announcement was made by the Hon'ble Chief Minister, Bihar, in 1985 who ever he was at that time and this announcement was subsequently formulated into a scheme, to the effect, that every person whose land was acquired and dispossessed there would be an exercise for his rehabilitation. This rehabilitation was to come in the form of fa) granting a job at the Thermal Power Plant (b) offering a shop and (c) a work contract. All these mitigating circumstances where in addition to the compensation which was to be paid upon acquisition of law.

(3.) Before the Court goes to examine the matter further, it needs to be observed that there was no necessity for the Hon'ble Chief Minister of have gone out of his way to make a statement that persons whose land has been acquired will given a job at the Thermal Power Plant or other rehabilitation offers. Ruthless as the Act is in the exercise of its sovereign powers, compensation having been paid, that is the end of the matter. But in the present case, the Hon'ble Chief Minister not only made a promise but had guaranteed to execute a mitigating scheme. Now it became the guarantee of the State to execute the scheme until every person who was covered under it receives the benefits made under it. Unfortunately, the State respondents conveniently evaded filing a counter-affidavit in the writ petition. Thus, there is no version on behalf of the State Government as to what was done with the scheme as it was formulated.