Land acquisition act

amol (Querist) 10 November 2011 This query is : Resolved
May i know any recent case law or any case of High Court or S C on the point of Restoration of land to the original owner if not used the acquired land for the purpose for wh the same was acquired

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ajay sethi (Expert) 10 November 2011
In Up as per press reports even if land not used for purpose it was acquired it will not be restored to original owners

ajay sethi (Expert) 10 November 2011
Land acquired will not be restored to owners: U.P

Land acquired by the development authorities will not be restored to the land owners even if such acquired land remains unutilised for more than five years for the purposes for which they were acquired following an amendment to the Uttar Pradesh Urban Planning and Development (UPUPD) Act, 1973 ( President's Act no. 11 of 1973 ).

The Uttar Pradesh Urban Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill, 2011 passed by both Houses of the State Legislature on Thursday omitted sub-section (1) of Section 17 of the Act. The sub-section provided that any person from whom the land was acquired could, after the expiry of five years from the date of acquisition, apply to the State government for restoration of the land on the ground that the land had not been utilised for the purpose for which was acquired.

It was further provided in the sub-section of the Act that the restoration could be ordered by the State government if it was satisfied on “repayment of charges which were incurred in connection with the acquisition, together with interest at the rate of 12 per cent per annum, and development charges, if any.”

The statement of objects and reasons to amend the principal Act states that since Section 48 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 provides for the withdrawal of only such a land, the possession of which has not been taken, the “said proviso does not differentiate accordingly.”

Stating that development authorities possess acquired land which has not been utilised for more than five years for the purposes for which they were acquired, the statement says that in the “interest of development it has been decided to amend the said Act to omit the said proviso ‘ab initio'.”

The UPUPD Act, 1973 was enacted to provide for the planned development of certain areas of Uttar Pradesh. Section 17 of the Act, which was re-enacted with modifications by the Uttar Pradesh President's Act (Re-enactment and Modifications), Act, 1973 (U.P. Act No. 30 of 1974) dealt with the compulsory acquisition of land.

The new legislation has been enacted by the Mayawati government in the wake of the controversy over the acquisition of land. The farmers, whose land had been acquired, alleged that land was acquired for industrial purposes by invoking the emergency clause but it had remain unutilised for several years. They also accused the development authorities of changing the land use pattern from industrial to residential purposes.

Keywords: UP land acquisition