M.M.Sundresh,J. - (1.) This writ appeal has been preferred by the owners of the land challenging the order passed by the District Collector dated 28.10.2020 invoking Section 16(1) of the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885 read with Section 14 of The Electricity Act, 2003, facilitating the completion of the over head towers. The learned Single Judge after elaborately considering the contentions raised, dismissed the writ petition and hence the present appeal.
(2.) We may note that on the very same Scheme, though for a different area dealing with the similar issues argued by the same counsel, the Division Bench of this Court in W.A.No.79 of 2019 by judgment dated 11.04.2019 dismissed the appeal filed by the land owners and the Special Leave Petition filed against the same was also dismissed.
(3.) The facts as dealt with by the Division Bench in W.A.No.79 of 2019 are reproduced hereunder for better understanding and appreciation: "2. Facts in brief: (i)Before proceeding further to deal with the submissions made by the learned counsel appearing for the parties, it would be appropriate to place on record the background facts including the role of the second respondent, scope of the enactments coupled with jurisdiction of this Court. (ii)The second respondent is a Government of India Enterprise and The Central Transmission Utility working under the aegis of the Ministry of Power. We are concerned in this appeal with the role of the second respondent in the project undertaken by it, as can be seen from the following paragraphs of the affidavit filed by it: "3......... It is a Corporation of National Importance incorporated as a "Government Company", under the provisions of the Companies Act, 1956, and is established with a view to develop an efficient Power Transmission System Network and is responsible for planning and coordination of inter-state transmission system and also responsible for establishment and operation of the Regional and National Power Grids, to facilitate transfer of power within and across the regions and is a Deemed Transmission Licensee in the capacity of "Central Transmission Utility" as envisaged under Sections 38 & 40 of The Electricity Act, 2003 as notified, vide Notification dated 27 th November, 2003, published vide Gazette of India No.1084 dated 4 th December 2003. 4. I submit that the Corporation is empowered under the provisions of the Electricity Act, 2003 (hereinafter referred to as the Electricity Act) and the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885 (hereinafter referred to as the Telegraph Act) to place and maintain power transmission Towers and to draw transmission lines under, over, along or across, and posts in or upon, any immovable property. Further, the aforesaid statutes, provide for the manner of removal of resistance/obstructions coming in the way of exercise of the powers conferred. The relevant provisions of the aforesaid enactments are discussed hereunder: a. As per Section 14 of 'The Electricity Act,2003','Central Transmission Utility' shall be deemed to be a 'Transmission Licensee' under the Act. b. As per Sec.164 of 'The Electricity Act,2003' the Appropriate Government may by order in writing for the placing of electric lines or electrical plant for the transmission of electricity confer upon the 'Licensee' any of the powers which the Telegraph Authority possesses under the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885. c. The Government of India in exercise of powers conferred under Sec.164 of "The Electricity Act 2003' had passed an Order dated 24.12.2003, vide Gazette of India No.1148 authorizing this Respondent to exercise all powers vested in the Telegraph Authority under part III of the Indian Telegraph Act,1885, in respect of Electrical Lines and Electrical plants established or maintained, or to be so established or maintained for Transmission of Electricity or for the purpose of Telephonic or Telegraphic communication, necessary for the proper co-ordination of the works. d. This Respondent submits that Part III of the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885, relates to power to place Telegraph Lines and Posts. Under Section 10 thereof, the telegraph authority may, from time to time, place and maintain telegraph lines under, over, along or across, and posts in or upon, any immovable property, provided that (a)..... (b) the Central Government shall not acquire any right other than that of user only in the property under, over, along, across, in or upon which the Telegraph Authority places any Telegraphic Line or Post, and (c) ..... , (d) in the exercise of the powers conferred by Section 10, the telegraphic authority shall do as little damage as possible, and when it has exercised those powers in respect of any property other than that of the local authority, it shall pay compensation, to all persons interested, for any damage sustained by them by reasons of exercise of those powers. Section 11 empowers the telegraphic authority at any time, for the purpose of examining, repairing, altering or removing any telegraph line or post, to enter on the property under, over, along, across, in or upon which the line or post has been placed." x x x 6.I submit that this Respondent has been entrusted with the task of construction/execution of scheme/s- (i) Raigarh Pugalur 6000 MW HVDC System (ii)AC System strengthening at Pugalur end (iii) Pugalur Trichur 2000 MW VSC Based HVDC System, under prior approval of Ministry of Power, Central Electricity Authority- Government of India under Ref No.52/11(PGCIL)/2015-PSP&PA-II/251-252 dated 29.09.2015. The subject matter of this Writ Petition pertains to Raigarh-Pugalur 6000 MW HVDC system with a 800 kV HVDC Transmission Line without any tapping in between connecting Raigarh in the State of Chattisgarh and Pugalur in the State of Tamil Nadu to facilitate evacuation and transfer of power various Generation plants located in the State of Chattisgarh state which passes through Chattisgarh, Maharashtra, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh & Tamil Nadu. The total length of the transmission line is 1843 Kms out of which 345 Kms passes through the State of Tamil Nadu. This project is one of the biggest power transmission project in India and the State of Tamil Nadu is the major beneficiary. 7. I state that the total cost of the project is about Rs.24,000 crores. The cost of the Transmission Project connecting Raigarh and Pugalur is estimated at Rs.19,000 crores including the Sub-stations at Raigarh and Pugalur. Under Scheme I of the project 800 kv Bipole HDVC link connects Raigarh (Chattisgarh) HDVC Station and Pugalur (Tamil Nadu) HDVC Station. The line length is 1,843 Kms directly connecting both the HDVC Terminal having capacity of 6000 MW. Under Scheme II, AC system strengthening, there are 5 double circuit 400 kV HVAC lines connecting Pugalur, Arasur, Udumalpet, Tiruvallam, (POWERGRID) and Edayarpalayam (TANTRANSCO) Sub-stations. Under the Scheme, major beneficiary is the State of Tamil Nadu. 8.Under Scheme I, viz., the line connecting Raigarh and Pugalur the length of the transmission line is about 345 kms in the State of Tamil Nadu consisting of 966 towers. The schedule for project completion is May 2019. As on date, foundation works for erection of 620 Towers have been completed for the entire project area. Erection of towers numbering 483 has been completed. Stringing work of about 45KMs has also been completed and the balance works are in full swing. I state that as far Dharmapuri District is concerned, 184 towers are proposed covering 69 kms. Out of 184 towers, foundation works in 170 locations have been completed. Erection of towers numbering 152 have been completed and the stringing of 8.44 km out of 69 km completed and the works are in progress. I state that in Dharmapuri District, out of 500 land owners (approx), 261 have received crop compensation to the tune of Rs.5.51 crores and tree compensation to an extent of Rs.7.91 crores." 3.While implementing the erection of towers, the following procedure is adopted: "Procedure for erection of towers 1.The entire distance of 1845 kms from Raigarh to Pugalur is divided into packages viz., 10 packages. 2.Each package is for about 180 kms. 3.For Tamil Nadu, 345 kms is divided into 2 packages viz., Package 9 and 10. 4.A straight line is drawn between Raigarh and Pugalur. 5.Regarding Tamil Nadu, the starting point is Chittoor. A straight line called "BEE LINE" is drawn from Chittoor to Pugalur. 6.The Engineers go along the BEE LINE as nearly as possible avoiding settlements, Railway line, Road crossing, River, Forest. 7.They conduct a walk over survey. 8. They propose three alternate routes to find out which is the most economically and technically feasible route. 9. Then the Angle points are also fixed. 10.Thereafter, a detailed survey is made. 11. The above exercises are shown in the Map. 12. The next stage is whatever is there in the Map is transferred to the ground viz., marked in the ground. 13. The angle points are fixed on ground by using Global Positioning System (GPS) instruments. 14.The ground level is then checked. Geographical details are collected and line peg mark fixed. 15. A profile is made on the above details. 16.Then for every 20 meters, ground level measurement is taken. 17. Normally, the space between two towers is 400 meters. The span will depend on the ground level, road, railway track, river and settlements and technical aspects. 18. Then the tower schedule is prepared. 19. On due approval of the above, check survey is done. 20. Exact tower point is fixed with the help of survey instrument. 21.It is only at that stage, we know that exact survey number over which the tower is to be located. 22.After fixing the tower location, the details as to the ownership and the person who is the owner of the land are obtained from the revenue authorities." 4. Thus, the second respondent does not know the exact survey numbers, extent of land and the identity of the persons on whose lands, transmission towers were to be erected. Once suit lands are identified, approval is accorded for erecting the transmission towers. 5. It appears that the transmission tower lines were proposed to pass through the lands of the appellants. They raised their objections and further writ petitions were filed and directions were issued to the first respondent to consider them. The second respondent also approached the first respondent seeking to invoke Section 16 of the Act. Summons were issued to the appellants for their appearance. While declining to appear, the appellants sought for numerous documents running to 14 numbers. Incidentally, they made requests to make measurements in their presence along with an expert of their own. As the requests made were not acceded to, they declined to appear before the first respondent. Having no other option and taking note of the fact that the second respondent has also sought for removal of obstruction, the impugned orders had been passed, inter alia, holding that the project is an absolute necessity in public interest and the short term crops can be raised at the places in which the lines were drawn, adequate compensation would be paid there is no possibility of considering the alternative route and the project nearing completion. Accordingly, the orders were passed in favour of the second respondent granting permission under Section 16 (1) of the Act." ;