Gujarat: HC quashes compensation awarded to farmers for land acquisition
The Gujarat High Court yesterday quashed the compensation awarded to farmers for land acquired for a national highway and an expressway and ordered their re-determination in accordance with law. The land was acquired by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) for building a highway between Bhavnagar and Veraval and the Vadodara-Mumbai Expressway. The bench sent the matter to the competent authority for re-determination.
Both parties involved have arrived at consensus: Petitioners' lawyer
This was done after both parties involved in the matter arrived at a consensus, said A J Yagnik, the lawyer for petitioners. A division bench of acting Chief Justice Anant Dave and Justice Biren Vaishnav heard the twelve pleas filed by petitioners challenging the legality of the method adopted by the land acquisition officer in arriving at the compensation amount for the farmers.
Officer didn't follow Center's notification for acquiring land: Petitioners
According to the petitions, the officer didn't follow the Center's notification stating that the provisions of Right to Fair Compensation in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013, with regard to compensation for landowners and determination of the market value, will be followed for acquiring land under the National Highways Act, 1956. NHAI continued to acquire land under the 1956 Act, the petitions said
Authorities also neglected NHAI guidelines while determining compensation amount: Petition
The petitions added no step was taken to update the market value of the land under acquisition. Also, authorities didn't take into account a set of detailed guidelines issued by the NHAI for implementation of the Land Acquisition Act, 2013, while determining the compensation amount.
