Supreme Court - Daily Orders
Mahanadi Coal Fields Ltd. . vs Mathias Oram . on 2 September, 2020
Bench: Uday Umesh Lalit, Vineet Saran
1
ITEM NO.2 COURT NO.4 SECTION XI-A
(HEARING THROUGH VIDEO CONFERENCING)
S U P R E M E C O U R T O F I N D I A
RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
Miscellaneous Application No.231 of 2019 in SLP (Civil) No.
6933/2007
MAHANADI COAL FIELDS LTD. & ANR. Petitioner(s)
VERSUS
MATHIAS ORAM & ORS. Respondent(s)
(IA No.66965/2020 – FOR CLARIFICATION/DIRECTION)
Date : 02-09-2020 This matter was called on for hearing today.
CORAM :
HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE UDAY UMESH LALIT
HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE VINEET SARAN
Counsel for the Parties:
Mr. ANS Nadkarni, Sr. Adv.
Mr. Anish Kumar Gupta, AOR
Ms. Archana Preeti Gupta, Adv.
Mr. Chandra Shekhar Suman, Adv.
Mr. Kartikeya Vajpai, Adv.
Mr. Puneet Sheoran, Adv.
Ms. Rita Gupta, Adv.
Ms. Deepshikha Bharati, Adv.
Mr. Jayant K. Sud, ASG
Mr. Gurmeet Singh Makker, AOR
Ms. Priyanka Das, Adv.
Dr. Abhishek Atrey, Adv.
Mr. Arvind Kumar Sharma, AOR
Mr. Prashant Bhushan, AOR
Mr. Ashok Panigrahi, AOR
Mr. Nabab Singh, Adv.
Signature Not Verified
Mr. Mudit Sharma, AOR
Ms. Nandini Sharma, AOR
Digitally signed by
INDU MARWAH
Date: 2020.09.03
14:15:18 IST
Reason: Mr. Amiya Kumar Behra, Adv.
2
Ms. Rashmi Ranjan Pradhan, Adv.
Mr. Tarun Samantaray, Adv.
Mr. Tejaswi Kumar Pradhan, AOR
Mr. B. Ramana Murthy, AOR
Ms. Rohini Musa, AOR
Mr. A. Venayagam Balan, AOR
Mr. R. Chandrachud, AOR
Mr. Vishal Arun, AOR
Mr. Shankar Divate, AOR
Ms. Nandini Gidwaney, AOR
Mr. Kedar Nath Tripathy, AOR
Mr. Aftab Ali Khan, AOR
UPON hearing the counsel the Court made the following
O R D E R
PART-I I.A. No.66965 of 2020 in M.A. No.231 of 2019 Interlocutory Application No.66965 of 2020 has been preferred by Mahanadi Coal Fields Ltd. (for short “MCF Ltd.”) stating that Mr. A.K. Singh, Member, Claims Commission (representative of MCF Ltd.) having resigned, the consequential vacancy be filled up and that MCF Ltd. has nominated Mr. R.S. Mahapatra, Ex.-Director (Personnel) BCCL as the representative of MCF Ltd. in place of Mr. A.K. Singh.
We accept the application. Mr. R.S. Mahapatra, Ex-Director (Personnel) BCCL is appointed as Member of the Claims Commission in place of Mr. A.K. Singh. Let the appointment be notified within seven days from today.
3
Miscellaneous application stands disposed of.
PART-II MISCELLANEOUS APPLICATION NO.231 of 2019 In our order dated 27.02.2020, MCF Ltd. was directed to place on record information pertaining to following aspects:
“(a) The amount of compensation paid/deposited village-
wise by MCF Ltd.
(b) The land pertaining to which the aforesaid compensation has been paid/deposited.
(c) The extent of land of which possession has up till now been received by the MCF Ltd. and so also extent of land of which possession has not yet been received.
(d) The number of persons who have been given employment and the period that they have been working with MCF Ltd. and whether all of them have given possession of their respective holdings.” The Status Report filed on behalf of the MCF Ltd. at page 21 indicates as under:
CHART DESCRIBING THE POSSESSION OF LAND RECEIVED BY THE MCL VILLAGE WISE Sr. No. Name of Village Total Tenancy Possession of Possession of Land the Land Land yet to be received by the received by MCL MCL (In Acres) (In Acres) 1 Tikilipara (P) 509.46 375.573 133.887 2 Sardega 290.9 285.52 5.38 3 Bankibahal 261.68 252.813 8.867 4 Gopalpur 1149.51 73.19 1076.32 5 Siarmal 288.47 14.06 274.41 6 Balinga 564.221 529.492 34.729 7 Kulda 283.22 72.63 210.59 8 Karlikachhar 325.81 0 325.81 9 Garjanbahal 495.34 0 495.34 10 Bangurkela 602.58 0 602.58 11 Jhupuranga 1372.895 0 1372.895 6144.086 1603.278 4540.808 4 According to the Chart, insofar as 4540.808 acres of land are concerned, the possession is yet to be received by MCF Ltd.
The next Chart appended as Annexure A-4 at Page 22 is as under:
ABSTRACT OF EMPLOYMENT ANNUITY/CASH PAID IN LIEU OF EMPLOYMENT IN MCL BASUNDHARA AREA Sl. No. Village Employment Annuity Cash in Total Nos. of Lieu of Persons who Employment have not given possession 1 Tikilipara (P) 261 2 12 275 135 2 Sardega 126 0 3 129 0 3 Balinga 155 0 28 183 5 4 Bankibahal 69 0 11 80 0 5 Gopalpur 407 3 126 536 496 6 Garjanbahal 133 15 31 179 179 7 Kulda 30 2 20 52 47 8 Karlikachhar 74 1 12 87 87 9 Siarmal 83 1 9 93 91 10 Bangurkela 30 0 0 30 30 1368 24 252 1644 1070 This Chart again indicates that 1368 persons have been given employment, 24 persons have been given the benefit of annuity, while 252 persons have accepted cash in lieu of employment, aggregating to the number of 1644. However, as many as 1070 persons out of 1644 have not yet given possession.
It is submitted by Mr. ANS Nadkarni, learned Senior Advocate that once the benefits are received by the concerned persons, over and above the compensation payable for acquisition of their holdings, the possession of lands in question must be received by MCF Ltd.5
In response, it is submitted that over and above the components adverted to in said Chart, alternate sites are also required to be given. One of the issues is whether alternate sites ought to be provided in terms of the provisions of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 (for short “the 2013 Act”).
Mr. Prashant Bhushan, learned counsel has relied upon Sections 31(1), 38(1) and 105(3) and Second Schedule to the 2013 Act to submit that handing over of alternate sites to persons who would be dis-housed as a result of acquisition is an essential prerequisite before possession can be taken over.
On the other hand, Mr. Nadkarni has relied upon the order dated 25.10.2013 passed by this Court in which it was observed:
“A8. We clarify that infrastructure provided for resettlement shall be in terms of Odisha Resettlement and Rehabilitation Policy, 2006 as well as the Third Schedule to the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill, 2013.” The matter is thus concluded by the Order dated 25.10.2013 and the issue stands answered accordingly.
Insofar as the provisions of the Odisha Resettlement and Rehabilitation Policy, 2006 (“The Policy”, for short) are concerned, they also contemplate resettlement and rehabilitation. Relevant Clause of the Policy states as under:
“Resettlement and Rehabilitation Plan: Based on the list approved by Government and option of displaced families, Resettlement and Rehabilitation Plan shall be prepared by the Collector for resettlement and rehabilitation after due consultation with displaced 6 communities in the manner determined by the Government. Such plan should address the specific needs of the women, vulnerable groups and indigenous communities. The same will be placed before the RPDAC for approval. While preparing the plan, the following aspects should be taken into consideration:
(i) Site for the resettlement habitat shall be selected by the RPDAC in consultation with the displaced families.
(ii) No physical displacement shall be made before the completion of resettlement work as approved by the RPDAC.
The certificate of completion of resettlement work will be issued by the Collector.
(iii) Gram Sabha shall be consulted.
(iv) Where there is multiple displacement additional compensation amounting to 50% of the normal compensation payable, shall be paid to each displaced family over and above the normal compensation in form of ex-gratia.
(v) Provisions relating to rehabilitation will be given effect from the date of actual vacation of the land.
(vi) Project Authority shall abide by the provisions laid down in this Policy and the decisions taken by RPDAC from time to time provided they are within the ambits of the approved Policy of the Government.
(vii) District Administration and Project Authorities shall be jointly responsible for ensuring that the benefits of R & R reach the target beneficiaries in a time bound manner.
(viii) Record of Rights of the land and houses allotted to the displaced persons should be handed over to them by the District Administration while resettling them in the Resettlement habitat. The District Administration shall take steps for immediate declaration of the new Resettlement habitat as a Revenue Village if it is not a part of an already existing Revenue Village.
(ix) Steps will be taken by the Project Authorities for acclimatization of the resettled people in new habitat including development of cordial social relationship between the host and resettled communities and to ensure as far as practicable overall improvement of standard of living of the displaced families.
7
(x) Subject to the details regarding provision of employment as enunciated elsewhere in the Policy the project authorities shall give preference in the matter of employment, both direct and indirect as well as through contractors employed by them, for execution, operation and maintenance of the project, to local persons as per the detailed guidelines issued by the State Government from time to time.
Sub-para (ii) of the afore-quoted Clause states that no physical displacement shall be made before the completion of resettlement work and that a Certificate of Completion of Resettlement Work will be issued by the Collector.
We, therefore, call upon the Collector concerned to file a Report within four weeks from today indicating the status insofar as Resettlement Work is concerned and whether any appropriate Certificate of Completion has been issued by the office of the Collector certifying completion of Resettlement Work. If any objection was raised on behalf of the concerned persons, the Report shall indicate the present status in that behalf.
The Collector shall also consider two Charts extracted hereinabove and indicate:
“Whether the persons who have not yet given possession of the land have received all components of benefits namely:
a) Money equivalent for the land acquired for the purposes of MCF Ltd.;
b) Any of the components, such as, employment, annuity or cash in lieu of employment;
c) Alternate sites in terms of the concerned Clause of the Policy.” 8 In case all the benefits have been received by the concerned persons, the Collector shall take appropriate steps to take possession of the lands and hand it over to MCF Ltd. at the earliest. The Report shall also indicate the steps taken in that behalf.
Mr. Nadkarni has also submitted that there are number of cases where though the compensation has been deposited by MCF Ltd. with the concerned authorities, no person has come forward to claim that amount or that there are multiple claimants claiming the same component of compensation leading to inter se disputes between the parties. The details in that behalf shall also be submitted by the Collector.
A copy of this order shall be communicated to the concerned Collector immediately and also to the learned Standing Counsel for the State of Odisha.
PART-III In comprehensive response filed by MCF Ltd. to the Report of the Claims Commission for village Tumulia, following information is given in Paragraph 5:
“At the outset it is submitted that earlier Hon’ble Claims Commission after making relevant survey and measurement sent the data to Mahanadi Coalfields Limited for preparation of compensation roll which was prepared by Mahanadi Coalfields Limited as per norms approved by Hon’ble Supreme Court in Gopalpur Part-I report amounting Rs.5663146942.78 and submitted to Hon’ble Claims Commission for approval. The summary of the said report is as under:9
Sl. No Details Amount of Compensation
1 Compensation against total land Rs.4509583778.00
2 Compensation against structures Rs.1033388423.36
3 Compensation against trees Rs.16384086.70
4 Compensation against structures over Rs.103790654.70
Govt. Land
5 Total Compensation in respect of land, Rs.566,31,46,942.78
structures, trees etc. (i.e. 1 to 4)
However, the Hon’ble Claims Commission have modified the compensation roll amounting Rs.6245410542.66 (summarised figure Rs.6187418342.32) as submitted to Hon’ble Supreme Court of India.” Mr. Nadkarni submitted that the amount of compensation in the sum of Rs.566,31,46,942.78 as computed by MCF Ltd., be allowed to be deposited with the concerned authority. We permit MCF Ltd. to do so. Let the money be deposited at the earliest without prejudice to the rights and contentions of the parties. The appropriate steps can thereafter be initiated by the concerned authorities.
PART-IV [IA No.66636 of 2020] Order dated 27.02.2020 passed by this Court had observed:-
“In our Order dated 19.11.2019, we had noticed that the Claim Commission was appointed in July, 2010 and as on the day when the order was passed, out of 14 villages, Report was submitted only insofar as 10 villages were concerned. This Court had, therefore, requested the Claims Commission to conclude the proceedings as early as possible and preferably within three months from today. There is no response from the Claims Commission giving any details as to what is the time frame within which the entire exercise is expected to be concluded. The Claims Commission undoubtedly has submitted a Report in respect of Village Tumulia. But even then the report in respect of two villages Kirpsara and Ratansara is still awaited.
x x x x x 10 In any case, we once again request the Claims Commission to conclude the proceedings as early as possible and preferably by 30.06.2020. The instant matter shall be placed for final disposal in the Second Week of July, 2020.” A communication has been received from the Claims Commission seeking extension to conclude the proceedings pending before it.
Considering the present situation, especially the lockdown pursuant to COVID-19 Pandemic, we deem it appropriate to grant six months’ extension to the Commission to conclude the proceedings. Ordered accordingly.
I.A. No.66636 of 2020 stands disposed of accordingly.
PART-V One feature which needs mention is that there are large number of volumes of documents and pleadings involved in this matter and considerable time gets lost in locating the Volumes relied upon by the learned counsel.
In order to obviate any difficulty, we direct the Registry to give Volume Numbers starting from Volume No.1 onwards, going strictly by the date of filing of the concerned Volumes/Documents. Tabular Chart of Indexed Volumes/Documents be prepared accordingly. The Chart must also indicate if any application(s) has/have been disposed of. Copies of the Tabular Charts of Indexed Volumes/Documents so prepared shall be shared through Online mode with all the learned counsel for the parties so that they may find it convenient to refer to the Volumes by respective numbers during the course of hearing.11
The Registry may also keep separate Volumes for Record of Proceedings and Office Reports ready for perusal of the Court. List the matter for further consideration on 13.10.2020.
(MUKESH NASA) (PRADEEP KUMAR)
COURT MASTER BRANCH OFFICER