The court dismissed the writ petition directing the petitioner to file a claim application before an arbitrator under Section 3G(5) of the National Highways Act for adjudication of the compensation quantum.
Petitioner directed to file claim application before Arbitrator within three weeks; proceedings to be disposed within four months.
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W.P.(C)NO. 21822 of 2015
09.05.2016 Heard learned counsel for the petitioner and Mr.A.Das, learned counsel appeari
ng for the opposite party.
Petitioner in the writ petition seeking for a direction to the opposite partie
s to calculate/reassess the structure value of the properties of the petitioner in consonance
with the provisions under the National Highways Act, 1956 as well as the Right to Fair Compens
ation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013.
Pursuant to the 3(D) Notification made by the National Highways Authority of I
ndia on 7.3.2014 the land and commercial building of the petitioner measuring an area Ac.0.017
dec. out of Ac.0.018 dec. from Plot No. 1392(P) under Khata No. 12 of mouza Tarol in the dist
rict of Cuttack has been acquired by the Land Acquisition Officer for widening of six lane roa
d of N.H.5 from Bhubaneswar to Chandikhol. Petitioners land measuring an area of Ac.0.017 dec.
from Plot No. 1392(P) in Khata No. 12 in village Tarol was coming within the said notificatio
n. Petitioner has constructed a commercial shop room over the land and let out the same on ren
t basis. The opposite party without any notice to the petitioner assessed the compensation amo
unt and petitioner was totally dark about it. After obtaining information from the R.T.I. Act
petitioner came to know that the competent authority has awarded the compensation of plinth ar
ea 616 sqft. to the petitioner towards acquisition of the aforesaid land along with the struct
ure value in total Rs.12,74,983/- including solatium and additional market value of interest f
rom the date of 3(D) notification till the date of payment with ex-gratia amount. The said awa
rd was passed in L.A. Case No. 29/46/2014. As the said assessment was not in accordance with t
he statutory provision the petitioner has filed a representation before the Land Acquisition O
fficer on 23.9.2015 to forward the representation to authorized arbitrator for adjudication of
the matter. As no action has been taken by the authority hence the present writ petition.
Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the land and building of the
petitioner was assessed by the Land Acquisition Officer and petitioner claiming his land and b
uilding be assessed as per the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition
, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 which was enforced w.e.f. 1.1.2014 vide Notificati
on No. S.O. 3729(E) published in Gazette of India extra-ordinary Part II, Section 3(ii) dated
19.12.2013 and the statutory benefit should be given to the petitioner which have not been tak
en into consideration in the assessment made by the competent authority.
A counter affidavit filed by opposite party Nos. 1 and 2 wherein it was stated
that aforesaid 2013 Act is applicable to NHAI with effect from 1.1.2015 as per the guidelines
issued by the Requisitioning Authority (R.O.) on 16.5.2015. The competent authority received
the said guidelines on 24th June, 2015 by that time the award for the said village has already
been passed and fund received on 9.6.2015.
Considering the above contention since the award was passed and a dispute aros
e regarding the quantum of compensation the claim of the petitioner is to be considered by the
arbitrator as per Section 3-G(5) of National Highways Act. For better appreciation the afores
aid provision is extracted herewith:-
3G. Determination of amount payable as compensation-
Xx xx xx
(5) If the amount determined by the competent authority under sub-section (1)
or sub-section (2) is not acceptable to either of the parties, the amount shall, on an applica
tion by either of the parties, be determined by the arbitrator to be appointed by the Central
Government.
In view of the above provision let the petitioner file his claim application b
efore the Arbitrator as provided under section 3-G(5) of the Act within a period of three week
s from today, in such event the Arbitrator shall consider the same in accordance with the law
after giving opportunity of hearing to the parties. The proceeding shall be disposed of as exp
editiously as possible preferably within a period of four months from the date of filing such
application.
Accordingly the writ petition is disposed of.
S. Panda, J
..
K.R.Mohapatra, J
2
1 issue framed by the court
Whether the petitioner can approach an arbitrator under Section 3G(5) of the National Highways Act for determination of the compensation amount when the authority has failed to act on a representation
2 provisions across 2 enactments
Petitioner
Opposite Party
S. Panda
K.R. Mohapatra
As recorded by the court registry
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