property
vishesh kumar
(Querist) 28 April 2011
This query is : Resolved
whether is there any provision for solatium under the national highway act
Guest
(Expert) 29 April 2011
As per the document on "Expropriation Laws and Practices: India", as available at: [http://www.adb.org/Documents/Reports/Capacity-Building-Compensation-Valuation/chap3.pdf ]the National Highways Act and other central Acts that govern land acquisition for specific purposes do not provide for a “solatium” as an increment to “market value.” This is a major defect and inconsistency in the statutory framework, which the Indian Parliament should address. A nongovernment organization (NGO) consultant familiar with National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) projects states that despite the absence of solatium in the National Highways Act, that the land acquisition officers from the state-level revenue departments do include solatium in the compensation awards for highway projects. His understanding was that the land acquisition offers did this out of “habit” from applying the LAA compensation provisions.
It is however important to note that Madras HC had already declared National Highways Act provision unconstitutional Section Allowed Acquisition Of Land Without Compensation.
The Madras high court has declared Section 3-J of the National Highways Laws (Amendment) Act, 1997, unconstitutional.Passing a common order on a batch of writ petitions which raised the common question of law and facts, Justice Vinod K Sharma stated that the provision (Section 3-J) was unconstitutional as it clashed with Article 14 of the Constitution.
