(Per : HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE D.H.WAGHELA)
1. Petitioners, 12 in number, have approached this Court with the prayer to hold that acquisition of their agricultural lands situated at village Saykha, taluka Vagra, district Bharuch, which is proposed to be acquired for the purpose of use by respondent No.3, is illegal and unconstitutional and set aside the notifications dated 11.12.2009 and 02.12.2010 which have been issued under the provisions of sections 4 and 6 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 ('the Act', for short). During the course of hearing, it was fairly conceded by learned counsel Mr.N.V.Gandhi, appearing for the petitioners, that even as the objections raised and submitted on behalf of the petitioners under the provisions of section 5-A of the Act have been considered by the authorities concerned and the record related to satisfaction of the government is called upon and made available for inspection by learned A.G.P., the petitioners were mainly aggrieved by the rate at which the lands were proposed to be acquired. He submitted that the report submitted on the basis of the objections of the petitioners clearly mentioned that compensation is to be paid for the lands in question, by consent, at the rate of Rs.175/- per sq. mtr. and that rate is neither agreed upon by the petitioners nor sufficient for the petitioners to purchase similar land, according to the submission.
2. Responding to the above submission, learned counsel Mr.M.B.Gandhi, appearing for respondent No.3, submitted, on instructions, that not only necessary procedure has been duly followed by the respondents in holding the proceedings for acquisition of the lands in question, but the price tentatively fixed by the respondent is Rs.445/- per sq. mtr. and in any case the awards of compensation are yet to be made in accordance with law and notices therefor are already issued under section 9 of the Act. It was also submitted that the petitioners have already submitted their claims which would be duly adjudicated by the authorities concerned. It was lastly submitted by learned counsel Mr.N.V.Gandhi that land of one of the survey numbers, viz. Survey No.68 belonging to petitioner No.1, is partly falling within the periphery of 300 mtrs. of the village and, therefore, it may not be acquired in terms of the policy of respondent No.3 itself. Learned counsel Mr.M.B.Gandhi has again assured that that part of acquisition of the land will be considered by respondent No.3 and unless the land is absolutely necessary for the project and plan of respondent No.3, it may, in the discretion of respondent No.3, be released from acquisition. Under the circumstances, and upon the assurance give by learned counsel Mr.Gandhi, appearing for respondent No.3, that the rate at which compensation will be determined was unlikely to be below the rate of Rs.445/- per sq. mtr., the petition was not pressed for any order on merits. Accordingly, the petition is disposed and notice is discharged with no order as to costs.
Sd/-
( D.H.Waghela, J.) Sd/-
( G.B.Shah, J.) (KMG Thilake) Top