Government negligence in land acquisition; Court orders compensation with interest to farmers

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar:

Expressing strong displeasure over the state government’s negligence in keeping a land acquisition matter pending for several years without paying compensation to the landowners, the Aurangabad Bench of the Bombay High Court has directed the concerned department to pay the compensation amount along with interest as per law. The order was passed on March 4, by a division bench comprising Justice Vibha Kankanwadi and Justice Hiten Venegaonkar.

The bench also directed that each of the two petitioners be paid ₹30,000 towards litigation costs, noting the hardship caused to the farmers due to the negligence of the authorities.

According to the petition filed by Vishwanath and Devidas Bhusare (residents of Muddesh Wadgaon, Gangapur tehsil), the land acquisition process had begun in 1979 and the award was declared in 1983. The land was subsequently taken into possession from the landowners. However, as the compensation awarded was very low, the petitioners approached the court. On December 9, 1988, the court delivered a judgment in favour of the petitioners and enhanced the compensation amount. Despite this, the concerned government department neither deposited nor paid the enhanced compensation to the landowners.

The petitioners again submitted a written application to the concerned authorities on July 8, 2024, demanding payment of the compensation amount along with the statutory interest. After examining the records, the court observed that there had been serious negligence on the part of the concerned government department.

The court noted that the compensation amounts initially fixed at Rs 9,212 and Rs 1,202 had remained unpaid for a long period and, with interest, had increased to Rs 61,861. The bench also pointed out that due to the carelessness of the officials, the burden of such accumulated interest ultimately falls on the government treasury.

Advocate Baliram Bhausaheb Shinde represented the petitioners, while assistant government pleader S B Pulakundwar argued on behalf of the state government. Referring to a similar ruling delivered earlier in such matters, the bench directed the concerned department to implement the order without delay.