Friday 29 December 2017

Shyam Sundar Singh, Aged about 50 years, S/o Late Mr. Mitthu Singh, R/o Village and Post Maharipur, Tahsil and District – Basti, 272 001 (Uttar Pradesh)

BY THE REGISTERED POST WITH ACKNOWELDGEMENT DUE

To,

1.   The Union of India,
Through the Secretary to Govt. of India,
Department of Road Transport and Highways,
Ministry of Road Transport & Highways,
Transport Bhavan, 1, Parliament Street,
New Delhi-110001, INDIA.
E-mail : 
secy-road@nic.in
Tel: 23753991 (O)
FAX : 91-011-23714104 

2.   National Highways Authority of India,
Through The Chairman,
G 5 & 6, Sector-10, Dwarka,
New Delhi - 110 075, INDIA.
Phone: 91-011-25074100 & 25074200
Fax : 91-011-25093507, 25093514

3.   THE PROJECT DIRECTOR,
National Highway Authority of India,
633, Shivlia Road, Mohaddipur,
Gorakhpur – 273 008 (Uttar Pradesh).

4.   The State of Uttar Pradesh,
Through The Collector,
District – Basti, (Uttar Pradesh).

5.   The Special Land Acquisition Officer
District – Basti, (Uttar Pradesh).


Dear Sir (s),

Under instructions from my clients (1) Dr. Vindhya Chal Singh, Aged about 65 years, S/o Late Mr. Mitthu Singh, R/o B-25, Siddharth Lake City, Anand Nagar, Raisen Road, Bhopal 462 021 (Madhya Pradesh) and (2) Mr. Shyam Sundar Singh, Aged about 50 years, S/o Late Mr. Mitthu Singh, R/o Village and Post Maharipur, Tahsil and District – Basti, 272 001 (Uttar Pradesh), I, serve you with notice as under :

1.   Land bearing Gata (Plot) Nos. 211 area measuring 0 Bigha 4 Biswas and 13 Biswansis situated at Village Sanasarpur and Land bearing Gata (Plot) Nos.  12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 60, 107 area measuring 1 Bigha 5 Biswas and 19 Biswansis Village Amhat of Paragana Nagar Purab, Tahsil and District Basti (Uttar Pradesh ) belonging to my aforesaid clients were acquired for construction of a road for which the my aforesaid clients are legally entitled to payment of compensation.

2.   You notice No. 1 to 3 for whose benefit the land of the my aforesaid clients has been acquired. You notice No. 4 & 5 who are to make such payment under the Law.

3.   The Governor of Uttar Pradesh was pleased to order notification No. 7525 / 46 (II) / L (18) –OSD 84, dated January 10, 1986 for general information which was published in Uttar Pradesh Gazette dated 12, July 1986 at page 951:

4.   Under sub-section (1) of Section 4 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 (Act No. 1 of 1894) read with the Government of India, Ministry of Home affairs notification No. 20/1/55 Judl. (I) dated May 14, 1955, The Governor of Uttar Pradesh was pleased to notify for general information that the mention in the Schedule below is needed for a public purposes, namely for construction of approach road to New Bridge over River Kuwano in K.M. 195 on N. H. No. 28 in District Basti.

5.   Being of the opinion that the provisions of sub-sections (1) and (1-A) of Section 17 of the said Act are applicable to the said land in as much as the said land which is waste or arable, as well as other than waste and arable is urgently required for the construction of aforesaid road and that in view of the prevailing urgency as well necessary to eliminate the delay inquiry under Section 5-A of the said Act, the Governor was pleased to direct under sub-section (4) of section 17 of the said Act that the provisions of said act shall not apply.

Schedule


S. No.
District
Pargana
Mauza
Gata (Plot) No
Approximate Area
1.
Basti
Nagar Purab
Sansarpur
211
0-4-13
2.
Basti
Nagar Purab
Amhat
12
13
14
15
16
17
60
107
0-3-0
0-3-18
0-4-9
0-5-11
0-4-16
0-0-18
0-1-15
0-1-12

6.   The Land Acquisition Act of 1894 is a law in India and Pakistan that allows the government to acquire private land in those countries.
7.   “Land Acquisition” literally means acquiring of land for some public purpose by government/government agency, as authorised by the law, from the individual landowner(s) after paying a government fixed compensation in lieu of losses incurred by land owner(s) due to surrendering of his/their land to the concerned government agency.

“THE LAND ACQUISITION ACT, 1894

(1 OF 1894)

(As modified up to the Ist September, 1985)

4. Publication of preliminary notification and power of officers thereupon. - (1) Whenever it appears to the [appropriate Government] the land in any locality [is needed or] is likely to be needed for any public purpose [or for a company], a notification to that effect shall be published in the Official Gazette [and in two daily newspapers circulating in that locality of which at least one shall be in the regional language], and the Collector shall cause public notice of the substance of such notification to be given at convenient places in the said locality [(the last of the dates of such publication and the giving of such public notice , being hereinafter referred to as the date of the publication of the notification)].

(2) Thereupon it shall be lawful for any officer, either generally or specially authorized by such Government in this behalf, and for his servants and workman, -

to enter upon and survey and take levels of any land in such locality;
 to dig or bore into the sub-soil; 

to do all other acts necessary to ascertain whether the land is adapted for such purpose; 


to set out the boundaries of the land proposed to be taken and the intended line of the work (if any) proposed to be made thereon;

to mark such levels, boundaries and line by placing marks and cutting trenches;

and, where otherwise the survey cannot be completed and the levels taken and the boundaries and line marked, to cut down and clear away any part of any standing crop, fence or jungle; 

Provided that no person shall enter into any building or upon any enclosed court or garden attached to a dwelling house (unless with the consent of the occupier thereof) without previously giving such occupier at least seven days' notice in writing of his intention to do so”. 


8.   The land acquisition act of 1894 was created with the expressed purpose of facilitating the government’s acquisition of privately held land for public purposes. The word "public purpose", as defined in the act, refers to the acquisition of land for putting up educational institutions or schemes such as housing, health or slum clearance, apart from the projects for rural planning or formation of sites. The word "government" refers to the central government if the purpose for acquisition is for the union and for all other purposes it refers to the state government. It is not necessary that all the acquisition has to be initiated by the government alone. Local authorities, societies registered under the societies registration act, 1860 and co-operative societies established under the co-operative societies act can also acquire the land for developmental activities through the government.

9.   The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) is the nodal agency responsible for building, upgrading and maintaining most of the national highways network. It operates under the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways. The National Highways Development Project (NHDP) is a major effort to expand and upgrade the network of highway network. NHAI often uses a public-private partnership model for highway development, maintenance and toll-collection. The NHAI was created through the promulgation of the National Highways Authority of India Act, 1988. In February 1995, the Authority was formally made an autonomous body.
It is responsible for the development, maintenance, management and operation of National Highways, totaling over 71,772 km (44,597 mi) in length.

Notification
10.                The process of acquisition begins with the issuance of preliminary notification, as envisaged under section 4(1) of Land Acquisition Act, 1894. The notification has to be essentially published in the official gazette and in two daily newspapers circulating in that locality of which at least one shall be in the regional language. Further, it is also necessary that the notification has to be affixed in conspicuous places of that locality.

Filing of objections
11.                The main objective of issuing preliminary notification is to call for objections, if any, against such acquisitions from the owners or others who are having certain interest over the property; giving them an opportunity to raise their claims against the move of the government for acquiring their lands. The persons aggrieved by such notification shall file their objections within thirty days from the date of preliminary notification(date of the publication of notification).

Final declaration
12.                After receipt of objections, the concerned authority shall consider those objections, and if found unsatisfactory, then a final declaration rejecting the claims will be issued. Section 6 of the amended Act provides that the final declaration shall be issued by the authority within a period of one year from the date of issuance of preliminary notification under section 4(1) of the Act. However, prior to the amendment, the time stipulated under the Act for final declaration was three years from the date of publication of the preliminary notification. The final declaration has to be published as required under section 6(2) of the Act.

Award
13.                Section 11 of the Act provides that after receiving the objections, the authority will have to hold an enquiry. However, it is necessary that actual extent of land proposed to be acquired and the value of the land has to be assessed before starting the enquiry, as required under sections 8 and 9 of the statute. On completion of the enquiry, award will be passed to that effect and published by the competent authority. After passing the award, the Collector or the Deputy Commissioner shall send notice to the owners or their representatives who were not present personally at the time of passing of the Award.

Time limit
14.                Once the enquiry is concluded, it is the duty of the competent authority to pass the award within two years from the date of publication of the declaration under section 6, as envisaged under section 11 A of the Act. If the authority fails to adhere to the time schedule prescribed under the Act, the entire proceedings initiated for land acquisition will lapse. After passing of the award, the Deputy Commissioner or any other competent authority may take possession of the land immediately, which shall thereupon vest absolutely with the government, free from all claims, whatsoever.

Special powers
15.                Section 17 of the Act confers special powers with the concerned authority wherein passing of award may be dispensed with and yet permits to take possession of the land notified for acquisition. Further holding of enquiry can also be waived, as envisaged under section 5 A of the Act. However, such powers can be exercised only in case of urgency. After passing of the award, the person whose land has been proposed to be acquired can give his consent for such acquisition and agree to receive the compensation.

16.                Objections can also be raised against the measurement of the land, enhancement of compensation or apportionment of the compensation by filing a written application before the Deputy Commissioner, as provided under section 18 of the Act, requesting the authority to refer the matter to the court for determination of the grounds raised in the application. An application to that effect has to be filed by the person who was personally present when the award was passed, within six weeks from the date of the award passed by the Collector. In other cases, the application will have to be made within six weeks from the date of receipt of the notice issued under section 12(2) or within six months from the date of the award passed by Deputy Commissioner, whichever is earlier.
Compensation
17.                Provision for settlement of dispute pertaining to apportionment of the compensation amount is available under section 30 of the Act. In such a situation, the Deputy Commissioner should refer the matter to the court. The claimant will be entitled to the compensation which is determined on the basis of the market value of the land determined as on the date of preliminary notification. According to section 34, if there is delay in payment of compensation beyond one year from the date on which possession is taken,]]]] interest at the rate of 15 per cent per annum shall be payable from the date of expiry of the said period of one year on the outstanding amount of compensation till the date of payment.

18.                Judicial Interpretation of the word "Dispute" in the land acquisition proceedings—State of Madras Vs. B.V. Subramania Iyer AIR 1962 Mad. 313- The Word “Dispute”- Includes any controversy with regard to the title of a single claimant- The word ‘dispute’ has been used in a wide and not in a literal sense and implies any controversy at to title, whether as between the actual claimants, or as appearing from the documents made available by the government. It is obvious that when the government exercises its power of eminent domain and acquires property, Public funds have to be utilized for the payment of compensation to the true owner, and not merely to any claimant who cares to appear on the scene. The government has a special responsibility in this regard, and cannot later take refuge behind the pretext that the compensation was paid to the claimant who actually appeared wile others did not appeared. So long as that is the situation the acquiring officer has a right to make such a reference, even if a dispute or controversy as to the arises on the documents before him. He cannot be made liable for costs, and it is the party who has to bear the costs incurred in establishing the title, of the party to receive the compensation amount.
19.                Status of the Tenant occupying the land to be acquired under Land Acquisition Act, 1894—M/s Indarprastha Ice and Cold Storage Ltd. Vs. Union of India AIR 1987 Del 171- Tenant is entitled to only a nominal compensation- Only a nominal portion of the compensation of the acquired land is to be paid to the tenant and substantial amount has to be taken by the landlord. The tenant is not entitled to 1/3 or 1/4 of the amount of compensation on the basis of judicial decisions relating to agricultural land on which the tenant had aright to purchase under Section 18 of the Punjab Security of Land Tenures Act. The tenant is only entitled to 1/8 share of the compensation.

20.                The government, under section 16 of the Act is at liberty to withdraw from acquisition of land except in cases provided under section 36. However, if the possession of land has been taken, then the government will have no authority to withdraw from such acquisition.

Procedure for the Land Acquisition

Investigation
21.                When a local authority or a company requires a land, an application is required to be made by it to the revenue authority.
22.                The application should be accompanied with a copy of the plan showing survey nos., purpose of acquisition and the reason for the particular site to be chosen and the provision made for the cost of the acquisition.
23.                After the government has been fully satisfied about the purpose, the least area needed, and other relevant facts as provided under land acquisition rules, it will issue a notification under Section 4 of the act that the particular land is required for public purpose.
24.                One of the revenue officers is appointed as the collector to hold an inquiry under Section 5-A of the Act.
25.                After notification the owner is prohibited from selling his property or disposing of it and prevented from carrying out any works of improvements for which no compensation will be paid if executed without prior permission from the collector.

Objection and Confirmation
26.                Objections are invited from all persons interested in land within thirty days from the date of notification.
26.    The objections will be valid on one or more of the following grounds:
i. That the purpose for which the land is proposed for acquisition is not a public purpose.
ii. That the land is not or less suitable than another piece of land for the said purpose.
iii. That the area under acquisition is excessive.
iv. That the acquisition will destroy or impair historical or artistic monuments or will desecrate religious buildings, graveyards and the like.

27.The collector after hearing the objections will submit his report to the government who will finally declare the land for acquisition under the Section 6 of the Act.
28.After notification the collector proceeds with the claim. He has the site marked out, measured and a plan of the same is made.

Claim and Award
29.The collector will issue notices under Section 9 to all persons interested in the acquisition to file their claim reports.
30.The collector is not to be a party to the proceedings, is to possess an expert knowledge on valuation, and offers a fair price to an owner and checks that the public funds are not wasted.
31.The claim filed should contain the names of the claimants and co-shares if any rents or profits for last three years and a valuation report of the land from an architect or an engineer.
32.The government can abandon the acquisition proceedings by simply canceling the notification. However, in that case compensation has to be paid under Section 48(2).
33.In determining the compensation the market value of the land is determined at the date of notification. The rise and fall in the value during the period of transaction and notification is taken into consideration.

Compensation is also payable when:
i. Part of the property is proposed for acquisition in such a manner that the remainder depreciates in value.
ii. When the land notified for acquisition has standing crops or trees.
iii. If the person interested has to change his place of residence or business then the excess rent payable for the new premises is also considered for compensation.

34.    Matters which are not taken into consideration for the purpose of land acquisition are:
i. The degree of urgency which has led to the acquisition.
ii. Any disinclination of the person interested to part with the land.
iii. Any increase in the land value likely to accrue from the use to which it will be put when acquired.

35.After necessary inquiries the collector declares his award showing true area of the land, total amount of compensation payable and apportionment of compensation if there are more than one owners or claimants.
36.The collector has to make the award under section 11 within a period of two years from the date of notification.

Reference to Court
37.Any person interested to whom the award is not satisfactory can submit a written application to the court.
38.This application should be made within six weeks from the date of declaration of the award.

Apportionment
39.In apparent of the compensation each of the claimants are entitled to the value of his interest, which he has lost, by compulsory acquisition.
40.Thus it is required to value a variety of interest, rights and claims in the land in terms of money.

41.It is pertinent to mention here that my client since living away from his parental native place, contact you noticee No. 4 & 5 through written communication and orally but it is sorry to say that nobody took any pain to redressal the grievances of my aforesaid clients.

42.You noticees are therefore called upon through this notice, to kindly pay the adequate amount of compensation to the value of my aforesaid clients interest, which they have lost, by compulsory acquisition, after following the due process of Law within a period of 2 months from the date of receipt of this legal notice failing which my aforesaid clients would be at liberty to proceed against you noticees before the competent Court of Law at your costs and risks.


A Copy of this legal notice is being kept in my office for future reference.

Thanking you

Yours faithfully



[VIJAY RAGHAV SINGH]

ADVOCATE

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