- (1.) ALL these appeals can be disposed of by this common order. In respect of the land in question, a Notification under S. 4(1) of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 was issued on 30/6/1992. This notification pertains to 27 acres 12 cents in Surveys Nos. 685, 686, 723, 724, 725 and 726/1 of Lakshmipuram Village, Kurnool District. The land was being acquired for Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corporation Limited for the purposes of establishment of LP gas-filling plant. The Land Acquisition Officer awarded compensation at the rate of Rs. 40,000.00 per acre vide Award No. 4 of 1992 dtd. 31/10/1992. Being dissatisfied, the claimants filed a reference.
(2.) THE Reference Court, by its order dtd. 30/12/1995, fixed compensation at the rate of Rs. 1,35,000.00 per acre for the land in Surveys Nos. 725 and 726/1; at the rate of Rs. 90,000.00 per acre for the land in Surveys Nos. 724 and 685 and at the rate of Rs. 70,000.00 per acre for the land in Surveys Nos. 723 and 686. The Reference Court passed the said order on the basis that the only comparable instance of sale was a sale deed dtd. 20/9/1991 which had been marked as Ext. B-4. That sale deed was for 50 cents in Surveys Nos. 742 and 743/1, Lakshmipuram Village which had been purchased at the rate of Rs. 90,000.00. This land was 200 ft away from the national highway and a 30 ft wide road had been provided free of charge for access to the land from the national highway. It must be mentioned that the Reference Court had also before it two other sale deeds, being Exts. B-1 and B-3 in respect of which the vendor and vendee had been examined. Ext. B-1 was a sale deed dtd. 4/6/1990 for only 0.25 cents in Survey No. 94 of Dupadu Village which had been purchased at the rate of Rs. 75,000.00. Apart from the fact that this was a very small piece of land, it was at a distance of 100 m from Dupadu Railway Station and had a silver factory on the land adjoining to it. Thus, this was not a comparable instance and was rightly not considered by the Reference Court.
(3.) THE other sale deed, Ext. B-3, was dtd. 18/12/1991. It was in respect of 1 acre 80 cents of land in Surveys Nos. 134, 136 and 137 of Dinnedevarapadu Village which had been purchased for Rs. 4,00,000.00. This land was at a distance of 1/2 km from the acquired land. The Reference Court excluded this on the basis that it was at some distance and in different villages whereas Ext. B-4 was in the same village and very close to the acquired land.;