VYRICHERLA NARAYANA GAJAPATIRAJU Vs. REVENUE DIVISIONAL OFFICER, VIZAGAPATAM

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This appeal is concerned with the question of what is the proper sum to be awarded to the appellant by way of compensation in respect of the compulsory acquisition by the Vizagapatam Harbour Authority of certain land of his adjoining the Harbour, the respondent being the representative of such authority for the purposes of this appeal. The circumstances in which the land was acquired are as follows: The Vizagapatam Harbour, the construction of which appears to have been begun in the year 1920, was formed by making excavations in swampy land situated to the south-west of the town of Vizagapatam and by dredging a deep water channel in the creek to the south of that town that led from the swampy land into the Bay of Bengal. On the south of the land acquired by the Harbour Authority for the purpose of these works is situated the property of the appellant known as the Lova Gardens. These gardens are formed by a valley which runs down from high ground on the south-west to low ground on the north-east adjoining the land of the Harbour Authority on the south of the above-mentioned creek. The upper portion of this valley consists of a shallow basin in the hills which forms the catchment area of a spring of water that emerges from the ground at the north-east end of the basin. This spring, which appears to yield even in the dry season an average flow of 50,000 gallons a day of excellent drinking water, is situated at a height of 150 feet above sea level. Until a part of it was diverted by the Harbour Authority, as narrated hereafter, the whole of the water from this spring ran down the valley to the lower end of Lova Gardens and from thence discharged itself into the creek. By the early part of the year 1926 the construction of the harbour had made considerable progress and it was hoped that it would be ready for opening by the end of 1929.

(2.) With that end in view a portion of the harbour site had been allocated by the Harbour Authority for the purpose of being used by oil companies and other industrial concerns. The entire south side of the harbour had indeed been allocated for industrial purposes. But the harbour land was very malarious, and so, too, was much of the land to the south of the harbour, including the lower part of the Lova Gardens ; a circumstance that gave rise to some anxiety in the minds of the Harbour Authority. They accordingly consulted Mr. Senior White, who is an expert upon the subject, and upon 1 May 1926 that gentleman, after making an "anti-malarial survey"of the area, embodied the results of his survey in a report. This report disclosed a serious state of affairs in the villages situated in the area of which there appear to have been at that time no less than 32 of which nine were on the south side of the creek. These villages, or many of them, seem to have been dependent upon wells for their water supply, and these wells formed breeding grounds for the malaria-bearing mosquitoes. It is plain from the report that persons carrying on business at the harbour would run a serious risk of contracting malaria as matters then stood, and this would greatly hamper the development of the harbour site for industrial purposes. Further, as Mr. White pointed out, there was the possibility of shipping at the quays becoming infected, and the mere possibility, which had already been suggested in the Indian Press, was detrimental to the interest of the port.

(3.) It appears from a letter written by Mr. Rattenbury, the Deputy Engineer in Chief to the Harbour Authority, dated 14 July 1926, that in these circumstances, Mr. White was "very keen on closing the wells along the south side,"and this, the letter adds, could be done if a gravity water supply were provided instead. Such a supply could be furnished by the spring at the upper end of Lova Gardens, and accordingly the Harbour Authority conceived the idea of using the water from the spring for the purpose of freeing the harbour from malaria. But apart altogether from the assistance that this supply of water would give to the prevention of malaria, there was much to justify its acquisition on its own merits, as was pointed out in a letter of 2 October, 1926, written by one of the harbour officials. For the water could be made available as a supply to the oil companies and other industrial concerns that might be established in the southern part of the harbour area. The method of utilizing the water for these purposes that was ultimately adopted was this. The water was to be diverted from the lower part of the valley to which reference has been made and led from a short distance below the spring directly to the harbour area by means of a tunnel to be made through the hilly land to the north-west of the valley. This scheme, which was in due course carried out and is now in operation, involved the acquisition from the appellant of the shallow basin forming the catchment area of the spring, the site of the spring itself, and a narrow strip of land below the spring. In due course the necessary steps were taken for the compulsory acquisition of this land under the provisions of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894, the notification under Section 4 (1) of the Act being given on 13 February 1928. The public purpose for which the land was needed was stated in the notification to be the execution of anti-malarial works, the total area to be acquired from the appellant being 108'9 acres. Of this acreage the catchment area, including the site of the spring referred to as 2-1D and 2-1E, accounted for 105'92 acres, and the land below the spring referred to as 2-1B (0'53 acres), 2-1C (0'48 acres) and 2-3B (1'97 acres) accounted for the rest.