Even as the Government works overtime in giving a final shape to its Special Economic Zone (SEZ) policy, the Supreme Court has emphasised that a state must consider the purpose of acquisition of land to decide the quantum of compensation to the owner. This recent directive from a Bench headed by Justice A R Lakshmanan assumes significance in the backdrop of violence in Nandigram in West Bengal.The apex court, which raised the compensation for land acquired for a new Broad Guage line of Konkan Railway, severely criticised the high court and the Special Land Acquisition Officer as they “failed to notice that the purpose of acquisition is for the Railways.”“The purpose is a relevant factor to be taken into consideration for fixing the compensation,” the Bench said.Expressing its displeasure at the high court reducing the award amount from Rs 192 per sq mt that was fixed by the district judge, to Rs 38 per sq mt, the court said, “In our opinion, the high court has adopted a rough and ready method for making deductions which is impermissible in law.”It further said, “In our opinion, the compensation awarded by the high court had no basis whatsoever and was not supported by cogent reasons and that it did not consider the future prospect of the development of the land in question.”While fixing the award at Rs 250 per sq mt with the deduction of 20 per cent, Justice Lakshmanan writing for the Bench held that Division Bench of the HC has “miserably erred” in reducing the rate of compensation and added, “in utter mis-reading of the evidence on record, acted in a flagrant error of law and facts.”The apex court, which felt “HC ought to have appreciated that the government-approved valuer is an expert in the field and the opinion of such an expert ought not to have been rejected shabbily,” also announced award of Rs 64,250 towards the cost of standing trees on land measuring about 11,875 sq mt that was acquired in 1994.
