Gauhati High Court
Page No.# 1/5 vs The Union Of India And 5 Ors on 9 March, 2022
Author: Manash Ranjan Pathak
Bench: Manash Ranjan Pathak
Page No.# 1/5
GAHC010043952022
THE GAUHATI HIGH COURT
(HIGH COURT OF ASSAM, NAGALAND, MIZORAM AND ARUNACHAL PRADESH)
Case No. : WP(C)/1660/2022
HADIA NILOFAR KHALIL AND ANR
W/O. LT. KHALIL ULLAH, R/O. DERGAON TOWN, WARD NO.2, P.O.
DERGAON, GOLAGHAT.
2: MD. FARUK HUSSAIN
S/O. LT. MUHIB ULLAH
R/O. DERGAON TOWN
WARD NO.2
P.O. DERGAON
GOLAGHAT
VERSUS
THE UNION OF INDIA AND 5 ORS
REP. THROUGH THE SECRETARY, MINISTRY OF ROAD TRANSPORT AND
HIGHWAYS, GOVT. OF INDIA, NEW DELHI.
2:THE COLLECTOR CUM DEPUTY COMMISSIONER
DIST. GOLAGHAT ASSAM.
3:THE ADDL. DEPUTY COMMISSIONER CUM COMPETENT AUTHORITY
(LA) DIST. GOLAGHAT ASSAM
4:THE CIRCLE OFFICER
DERGAON REVENUE CIRCLE
DERGAON MOUZA DIST. GOLAGHAT.
5:NATIONAL HIGHWAY INFASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT CORP. LTD.
3RD FLOOR PTI BUILDING
4-PARLIAMENT STREET
NEW DELHI.
6:THE GENERAL MANAGER (PROJECT)
NATIONAL HIGHWAY INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT CORP. LTD.
Page No.# 2/5
OPPOSITE BRAHMAPUTRA ACADEMY JUNIOR COLLEGE
PIN-785001 DIST. JORHAT
Advocate for the Petitioner : MR. S K BARKATAKI
Advocate for the Respondent : ASSTT.S.G.I.
BEFORE
HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE MANASH RANJAN PATHAK
ORDER
09-03-2022 Heard Mr. S. K. Barkataki, learned counsel for the petitioner and Mr. S. S. Roy, learned CGC for the respondent No.1. Also heard Mr. J. Handique, learned Government Advocate, Assam for the respondent Nos. 2, 3 and 4 as well as Mr. R. K. Talukdar, learned Standing counsel, National Highway Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL), for the respondent Nos. 5 and 6.
The Central Government in the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MORTH, in short) vide S.O. No. 3694(E) dated on 20.10.2020 issued the Notification under Section 3A of the National Highway Act, 1956 by publishing the same in the Gazette of India declaring its intention to acquire the land specified in the Schedule annexed to the said Notification dated on 20.10.2020 for the purpose of building (widening/four-laning etc.), maintenance, management and operation of NH-37 on the stretch of land from Km 426.8 to Km 437.4 in the district of Golaghat, Assam. The copy of the said Notification dated on 20.10.2020 was also published in the English Daily 'Assam Tribune' as well as the Assamese Daily ' Dainik Janambhumi' on 24.10.2020 as required under Section 3A(3) of the said 1956 Act notifying the land for the said purpose including the land of the petitioners involved in the present case.
Subsequent to that the Central Government in the MORTH vide Notification S.O. No. 1445 (E) dated 05.04.2021 issued a Corrigendum publishing the in the Gazette of India and the said Corrigendum was also published in the English Daily 'Assam Tribune' and the Assamese Daily 'Dainik Janambhumi' both on 07.05.2021.
Page No.# 3/5 Inspite of those publications as nil objections were received by the concerned Competent Authority of Land Acquisition (CALA) cum the Additional Deputy Commissioner (ADC), Golaghat, on the basis of the report in that regard submitted by the said CALA under Section 3D(1) of said 1956 Act, the Central Government in the MORTH vide S.O. No. 2443 (E) dated 21.06.2021 issued Notification under Section 3D (1) of said 1956 Act declaring the land specified in the Schedule of the said Notification dated 21.06.2021 shall be acquired for the said purpose and further, by the said Notification dated 21.06.2021 the Central Government in the MORTH declared that from the publication of the said Notification in the Official Gazette, the land specified in the said Schedule have been vested absolutely in the Central Government free from all encumbrances that include petitioners land measuring 4 (four) Kathas, 17 (seventeen) Lechas at Dag No. 655, covered by No. 44 Aksona Patta at Dergaon Town, Mouza-Dergaon, under Dergaon Revenue Circle of District-Golaghat, involved in the case.
Thereafter, the CALA cum the ADC, Golaghat issued Section 3G Notification assessing the compensation for the land acquired for the said purpose, pursuant to which the respondents in the MORTH deposited the awarded amount. However, during the process of said acquisition of land of the petitioners under the said 1956 Act, pursuant to the order of the Deputy Commissioner, Golaghat dated 17.05.1990; the Circle Officer, Dergaon vide order dated 02.08.2021 changed the class of land of the petitioners involved in the case, acquired for the said purpose, converting the same from " Baaz" (Barren) to "1 No. Bepar" (First Class Commercial).
As the class of land of the petitioners acquired in the case has already been substituted as 1st Class Commercial land and whereas the petitioners have been paid compensation for acquisition of their said land assessing the same to be agriculture land, therefore, the petitioners on 29.06.2021 approached the CALA for enhancement of the amount of compensation for acquisition of their said land considering the same to be 1 st Class Commercial land.
Though the CALA on 16.08.2021 wrote to the respondent NHIDCL in that regard for enhancement of compensation of the land of the petitioners acquired for the said purpose Page No.# 4/5 considering it to be first class commercial land, but the respondents in the NHIDCL vide communication No. JRT/NHDCL/GM/ DERGAON TOWN/157/Pt-I/2021/1914 dated 24.09.2021 informed the CALA cum ADC, Golaghat that for the said land of the petitioner acquired in the case as Award under Section 3G of said 1956 Act has already been passed and since compensation amount has already been credited in the account of the CALA and therefore, change of nature of land is not possible as corrigendum of Section 3D Notification of said 1956 Act was not made prior to the Award made by CALA under Section 3G of said 1956 Act for the said acquired land. Therefore, the respondent NHIDCL rejected such prayer of the petitioners for enhancement of the compensation for acquisition of their said land for the said purpose considering the class of the said land to be First Class Commercial instead of Agricultural land.
Being aggrieved with such rejection of enhancement of compensation by the respondent NHIDCL, noted above, petitioners have preferred this writ petition.
Section 3G of the National Highways Act, 1956 relates to "Determination of amount payable as compensation" and Section 3G(5) of said 1956 Act provides that - if the amount determined by the competent authority under sub-section (1) or sub-section (2) is not acceptable to either of the parties, the amount shall, on an application by either of the parties, be determined by the arbitrator to be appointed by the Central Government .
Further Section 3G(6) of said 1956 Act provides that - Subject to the provisions of this Act, the provisions of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 shall apply to every arbitration under this Act (i.e., NH Act,1956) Moreover, 3G(7)(a) of said 1956 Act provides that - The competent authority or the arbitrator while deter mining the amount under sub-Section (1) or sub-Section (5), as the case may be, shall take into consideration -
(a) The market value of the land on the date of publication of the notification under Section 3A (Section3A of said NH Act, 1956).
In the case in hand from the above it is seen that Section 3A Notification of said 1956 Act was published in the Gazette of India on 20.10.2020 and thereafter, Corrigendum relating Page No.# 5/5 to the Notification under Section 3A regarding land involved in the case was published on 05.04.2021, whereas the Deputy Commissioner, Golaghat on 17.05.1990 directed to change the class of land of the petitioners involved in the case and in pursuance of the same the Circle Officer, Dergaon by his order dated 02.08.2021 changed the class of land of the petitioners involved in the case, acquired for the said purpose, converted the same as "1 No. Bepar" i.e., First Class Commercial.
On being enquired by the Court, Mr. R. K. Talukdar, learned Standing Counsel for the respondent NHIDCL on instruction submitted that the Additional Commissioner, Upper Assam Division, Jorhat, Assam is the concerned Arbitrator under the NH Act, 1956 for any such enhancement of the award passed by CALA pertaining to compensation assessed for acquisition of land under the NH Act, 1956 in the district of Golaghat, Assam.
In view of the above, the petitioners may approach the Additional Commissioner, Upper Assam Division, Jorhat, the concerned Arbitrator under the NH Act, 1956 as provided under Section 3G(5) of said NH Act 1956 for enhancement of the award pertaining to compensation of their land acquired under the NH Act, 1956 involved in the present case for which the petitioners already received compensation under Section 3G(1) of said 1956 Act as per the award passed by CALA-cum-ADC, Golaghat.
With the above observation and direction this writ petition stands disposed of.
JUDGE Comparing Assistant