High Court: Beed collector ordered to decide on compensation release to farmer against land acquisition

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar:

The Aurangabad bench of the Bombay High Court, comprising Justice Vibha Kankanwadi and Justice Hiten Venegavkar, recently has directed the Beed district collector to take a decision within four weeks regarding compensation for land acquired in Parner (Beed district), for the installation of a wind energy tower.

According to the petition filed by Ravindra Kamble and other farmers through Adv Narsingh L. Jadhav, their ancestral land was located in Parner. Out of this, around two acres were allegedly taken over illegally by the company Renu Green Power MHP 2 Pvt. Ltd. without following any legal procedure or issuing notice to the petitioners. The company erected several wind towers, laid electric lines, and constructed a road on the said land without authorisation. The petitioners submitted a written complaint to the sub-divisional officer (SDO), requesting compensation for the land used by the company.

Orders for action

Acting on the complaint, the SDO instructed the tehsildar to take appropriate action. The tehsildar then directed the circle officer to conduct a factual inquiry and submit a report. The talathi and circle officer visited the site and prepared a panchnama (spot inspection report), confirming that the company had used approximately two acres of the petitioners’ land.

However, the SDO and district collector (Beed) failed to follow the procedure prescribed under the government resolution (GR) issued by the state’s Department of Industries, Energy, and Labour. This resolution outlines the process for compensating landowners whose lands are used for erecting towers and laying transmission lines of 66 kV or higher capacity. The petitioners alleged that their land was acquired in violation of these guidelines and legal provisions.

They requested that the authorities follow all legal procedures and government directives and provide compensation under the Land Acquisition Act. As no action was taken on their grievance, the petitioner approached the above court. Advocate Jadhav was assisted by Adv Gaurav Khande, while Adv S D Ghayal pleaded on behalf of the government.