In a warning to States not to linger compensation claims of citizens whose land has been forcibly acquired under public purpose projects, the Supreme Court on Thursday held that any callous inaction by the State or its instrumentalities to provide just compensation will be viewed as a dereliction of a constitutional duty allowing courts to step in and direct compensation.
The case in hand pertained to several tracts of land acquired by Army in 1981 in village Boytawala in Jaipur district of Rajasthan for an Army firing range. The State Government took possession of the land in March 1983 and subsequent negotiations led to a circular issued by the state government on December 13, 2001 announcing that all oustees will get 15 per cent developed land in lieu of the acquired land preferably near the acquired land, and if not, developed land situated nearby.
The facts of the case exposed how the state government, despite giving land to two oustees in Vidyadhar Nagar (situated within five kilometers of Jaipur) denied the same to other oustees although it was admitted by Jaipur Development Authority that land was available in the same colony as the Authority had in 2003 issued auction notice for sale of group housing plots in Vidyadhar Nagar Scheme. As time rolled, the state government revised its scheme and decided to offer plots to oustees in villages lalchandpura and Anantpura, situated almost 40 kilometres from Jaipur which were undeveloped having no basic amenities of water, electricity, drainage, sewerage. Moreover, the price of land in these areas was negligible compared to the plots acquired or that which was situated in Vidyadhar Nagar.
Scoffing at the insensitive approach of the state, the bench of Justices V Gopala Gowda and Amitava Roy held, “The respondents’ (State and JDA) persistent failure to act on its policy demonstrates a highly insensitive and evasive orientation at the cost of its citizenry by a show of dominating bargaining power.” It directed state to allot developed plots situated within 15 kilometre radius of Jaipur city to be given to oustees within six weeks.