- (1.) This order shall dispose of RFA Nos. 2513 to 2519 of 2010, as the same arise out of a common acquisition. The State of Haryana is seeking reduction of compensation awarded to the landowners by the learned court below for the acquired land.
(2.) Briefly the facts of the case are that the State of Haryana vide notification dated 26.2.2004 issued under Section 4 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 (for short, 'the Act') sought to acquire land measuring 2.05 acres situated within the revenue estate of village Ashabpura, Hadbast No. 212, Tehsil Chhachhrauli, District Yamuna Nagar, for construction of a missing road from Yamuna Nagar to Poanta. Notification under Section 6 of the Act was issued on 17.2.2005. The Land Acquisition Collector (for short, 'the Collector') vide award dated 27.12.2006 assessed the compensation for the acquired land @ Rs. 14,880/- per acre. Feeling dissatisfied with the award of the Collector, the landowners filed objections under Section 18 of the Act, which were referred to the learned court below. On reference, the learned court below vide award dated 23.1.2010, assessed the compensation for the acquired land @ Rs. 2,60,000/- per acre. The State being aggrieved against the award of the learned court below is before this court.
(3.) A perusal of the award of the Collector as is on record shows that the Evaluation Committee under the Chairmanship of Divisional Commissioner, Ambala had assessed the value of the acquired land on the basis of earlier award no. 141 dated 27.12.1985 pertaining to the acquisition of land in the same area for the same purpose, for which notification under Section 4 of the Act was issued prior thereto. As has been noticed above, notification under Section 4 of the Act in the present case was issued on 26.2.2004. Still the Collector thought it appropriate to assess the compensation on the basis of award of land for which acquisition was carried out in the area two decades back, despite the fact that the State Government had come out with a policy on 28.4.2005, providing minimum rates for assessment of compensation for the acquired land in the State. The policy was applicable for all the awards, which were announced on or after 5.3.2004 irrespective of the date of notification under Section 4 of the Act. The relevant extract of policy dated 28.4.2005, is as under:- "Subject:- Fixation of floor rates for acquisition of land for public purpose in the State of Haryana. Sir, I am directed to refer to the subject cited and to state that the State Government has been acquiring land for public purposes for various departments as well as other State Agencies. Under the present system compensation is paid to the land owners based on the rate fixed by the Committee constituted under the Chairmanship of Divisional Commissioner vide this department letter No. 3670-R-5-95/8943, dated 20.6.1995. This Committee had been recommending rates based on the quality, category and location of the land under acquisition. 2. It has been the general experience that the rates of compensation fixed for acquisition are quite low as compared to the market rates prevalent in that area. Consequently, the land owners have to approach the Courts for enhancing the compensation paid to them and this process of litigation takes a substantial time. Agricultural land all over the State has become very valuable and more so in the region surrounding Delhi. The farmer who is deprived of his only livelihood is entitled to a fair compensation based on the market rates prevalent in the area. 3. The question of bringing about an improvement in the system by fixing a minimum floor rate and thereby ensure payment of fair compensation to the farmers based on the market rates, has been under the active consideration of the State Government. The system of acquisition followed by the Delhi Administration as well as by the NOIDA operating in the NCR has also been studied.;