Hyderabad: Property owners take legal action against misuse of Land Acquisition Act
Alleging rampant misuse of powers by the officials of the Hyderabad district administration, property owners whose land was taken over for various reasons are planning to initiate legal action against the errant officials. The also allege that many of them were harassed by the authorities after the approached courts tried seeking higher compensation for the land they had to part with under the prevailing Land Acquisition Act. They have also demanded their cases be considered under the new , which came into effect from January 1, 2014.
Misappropriation by district authorities
There are many such instances of misappropriation on the part of the Hyderabad district administration authorities. In one such instance, the Hyderabad district administration had acquired an eight-acre prime land near ESI hospital, Sanatnagar in 2000. Till date, the owner of this property has not received full compensation inspite of approaching the court to settle the issue. Incidentally, the Land Acquisition officer had offered a lakh per acre considering the land was agricultural land when the prevalent land value in 2000 was Rs. 20,000 per square yard.
Required documents for legal action
In circumstances when the land owner feels that sufficient compensation was not paid, the owner can decide to take the given amount “under protest”. Following this, he can approach the court seeking extra compensation under section 18 of the LA Act. However, the owner needs to ensure that he collects the requisite documents showing the prevailing market value of land at that time in that area. Besides, he should also provide documents of the sale deed of properties registered in that area. Moreover, the owner should also be able to bring a witness to the court to prove that properties were sold at higher values in that area at that particular time.
According to the new Act, the authorities are required to issue a preliminary notification for land acquisition. In this the authorities are required to provide details regarding the nature of public purpose that necessitates land acquisition and the reasons for displacing those affected. Besides, the summary of the social impact assessment study report should also be provided. Moreover, the government agencies are supposed to take over only the minimum area of land required for the project.
Compensation denied on flimsy grounds
Meanwhile, it has come to light that the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) and the Hyderabad Metro Rail (HMR) have denied compensation to deserving land owners. The reasons ascribed for denying compensation are the non-submission of certain documents as well as the required amount already being deposited in the courts as under section 30. Such instances have been rampant in cases where the owners refused to give their consent to the town planning wing for taking over land required for the metro rail project as well as various road-widening projects.
New Act safeguards land owners rights
In the normal case, the GHMC acquires land by invoking compulsory acquisition and urgency clause in the Act. However, as per the revised Act, compulsory acquisition provisions are needed in cases where land is acquired for public purposes or for public private partnership projects involving public projects and not for private sector companies for private or commercial purposes.
The GHMC and the HMR have already started the process of notifying properties and awarding compensation under the existing Act as the new Act comes into effect on January 1, 2014. Following the new Act coming into effect, these agencies would have to provide higher compensation. Besides, they would also have to follow several procedures to complete the land acquisition process.
