Chakravartti, C.J. - (1.) The appellants arc the owners of premises No. 55-A, Raja Raj Ballav Street, situated in the northern part of Calcutta. It is a fairly commodious house, built on 8 kottas of land and standing on its own grounds 01 12 more kottas. The house is a three-storeyed one and there is a foundation only for three storeys.
(2.) By a scheme finalised in 1949, the land on which the house stands was included in the area which, under that scheme, is liable to be charged with a betterment fee. The application out of which the present appeal arises was directed against such incluision of the land in the scheme.
(3.) The material facts are as follows:-- It appears that the Calcutta Improvement Trust has long had among its plans a project for extending the thoroughfare formerly known as the Central but, now known as Chittaranjan Avenue, upto the Chitpore Bridge. In connection with that project, an alignment, called Alignment No. IX, has teen in existence since 1917. On the llth'May 1932. a scheme, called Scheme No. XXXVII, was sanctioned by Government and that scheme carried Central Avenue upto Raja Raj Ballav Street. The stretch between Raja Raj Ballav Street and the Chitpore Bridge remained to be dealt with and nothing appears to have been done till 1947,;