SC says higher compensation for land owners

New Delhi, Mar 11: In a judgement with wide ramifications for thepolicy of setting up of Special Economic Zones (SEZs), the SupremeCourt has held the state must take into consideration the purpose ofacquisition of private land while fixing the quantum of compensation tobe awarded to the land owner.

The ruling, by a bench comprising Justices A R Lakshmanan andAltamas Kabir, enhanced the amount of compensation for the landacquired for new broad gauge line of the Konkan Railways between Rohaand Mangalore from Rs 38 per sq metre, as fixed by the Bombay HighCourt to Rs 250 per sq metre.

It also awarded Rs 64,250 towards the cost of standing trees on land measuring about 11,875 sq metre that was acquired in 1994.

The government had earlier fixed the compensation at the rate of Rs four per sq metre.

The award was, however, challenged in the district court, which fixed the compensation at the rate of Rs 192 per sq metre.

The amount was then reduced to Rs 38 per sq metre after a Bombay High Court judgement dated March 1.

The petitioner Nelson Fernandes and others, whose land was acquired, challenged the High Court judgement in the Supreme Court.

The apex court while setting aside the impugned judgement of theHigh Court observed ''in our opinion the High Court has adopted a roughand ready method for making deductions, which is impermissible in law.We have already noticed the valuers report.

In our view the HC ought to have appreciated that the governmentapproved valuer is an expert in the field and the opinion of such anexpert ought not to have been rejected shabbily. In our view the orderspassed by the division bench resulted in injustice being caused to theappellant. '' The apex court also held that the appellants would beentitled to all other statutory benefits such as solatium, interest etcas also to a compensation fixed at Rs 59,192 for the trees standing onthe said land.

The compensation shall be given at the rate of Rs 250 per sq metre with the deduction of 20 per cent, it further said.

With this judgement it is clear that from now onwards the Centralas well as state government may have to pay a higher rate ofcompensation to farmers whose fertile lands are being acquired for SEZsat throwaway prices, since the purpose of acquisition of land iscommercial.

The Supreme Court in its judgement has further made it clear thatbesides taking into consideration the purpose of acquisition,parameters such as market value, location of the land and the loss ofincome suffered by the land owner and availability of basic amenitiessuch as water and electricity must be taken into account prior tofixing the amount of compensation.

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