SC says higher compensation for land owners as SEZs are commercial

New Delhi, Mar 11 (UNI) In a judgement with wide ramifications for the policy of setting up of Special Economic Zones (SEZs), the Supreme Court has held the state must take into consideration the purpose of acquisition of private land while fixing the quantum of compensation to be awarded to the land owner.

The ruling, by a bench comprising Justices A R Lakshmanan and Altamas Kabir, enhanced the amount of compensation for the land acquired for new broad gauge line of the Konkan Railways between Roha and Mangalore from Rs 38 per sq metre, as fixed by the Bombay High Court 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 the High Court observed ''in our opinion the High Court has adopted a rough and 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 government approved valuer is an expert in the field and the opinion of such an expert ought not to have been rejected shabbily. In our view the orders passed by the division bench resulted in injustice being caused to the appellant. '' The apex court also held that the appellants would be entitled to all other statutory benefits such as solatium, interest etc as also to a compensation fixed at Rs 59,192 for the trees standing on the 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 Central as well as state government may have to pay a higher rate of compensation to farmers whose fertile lands are being acquired for SEZs at throwaway prices, since the purpose of acquisition of land is commercial.

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

UNI