Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: No one can be deprived of their property without adequate compensation, this is a fundamental principle of law. Under Article 300-A of the Constitution, citizens are granted this right. Accordingly, the petitioners are entitled to receive compensation for the land acquired from them. Expressing this view, the Aurangabad Bench of the Bombay High Court, comprising Justice R G Awchat and Justice Neeraj P Dhote, has recently directed the arbitrator and district collector to determine and disburse the compensation for the petitioners' land at the earliest.
During the hearing of a petition challenging the opinion of the Town Planning section of Ahmednagar, which had recommended ‘zero’ compensation for non-agricultural land acquired for the widening of National Highway 752-G in Kopargaon, the bench questioned, "How can such a department give such an opinion?" Taking serious note of the matter, the Aurangabad Bench delivered the aforementioned order.
What was the petition?
The petition was filed by Anup Walmiki Katkade and others through Adv. Pragya Talekar and Adv. Ajinkya Kale. According to the petition, the Central Government had issued a notification regarding the commencement of widening work on National Highway 752-G in Kopargaon. Following this, the competent authority, the Sub-Divisional Officer (SDO) of Shirdi, issued an award determining compensation for the acquired land.
However, based on the opinion of the Joint Director of the Town Planning section at Ahilyanagar (Ahmednagar), the award stated that ‘zero compensation’ would be given for the acquired non-agricultural land. Challenging this decision, the petitioners approached the Aurangabad Bench of the Bombay High Court.
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Land should be handed over without compensation for civic amenities
The Joint Director of the Town Planning section at Ahilyanagar (Ahmednagar) had expressed the opinion that land should be handed over to the authorities without any compensation for civic infrastructure like footpaths, internal roads, etc. The Bench took serious note of this opinion and issued the aforementioned order.