‘Fairness extends to compensation’: Telangana High Court orders to review claims of landless Karimnagar farmers
(Image generated using AI)Telangana High Court news: Emphasising that fairness in land acquisition must go beyond mere issuance of notifications and awards, the Telangana High Court has held that deprivation of property must follow a just, fair and reasonable procedure, including proper consideration of compensation claims, and directed the authorities to revisit long-pending representations of landless assignees. Justice Vakiti Ramakrishna Reddy was hearing a writ petition filed by Yava Narsaiah and other landless assignees seeking a declaration that the action of the authorities in not paying compensation for their acquired lands on par with private patta lands was illegal, arbitrary and unjust.
Justice Vakiti Ramakrishna Reddy held that in cases involving economically weaker or illiterate persons, courts may adopt a liberal approach. (AI-enhanced image)“Acquisition of land results in deprivation of property, and though the right to property is no longer a fundamental right, it still continues to be a valuable constitutional right under Article 300A of the Constitution of India. Any deprivation thereof must be in accordance with a just, fair and reasonable procedure,” the Telangana High Court said on April 23.
It added, “The concept of fairness in this context is not confined merely to the issuance of notifications or passing of awards, but extends to the entire process, including determination and disbursement of compensation and consideration of claims raised by the affected persons.” Decades-old grievance over LMD project
The observations came in a writ petition filed in 2019 by Yava Narsaiah and others, who were assigned agricultural lands in Ganneruvaram village of Karimnagar district. The lands were acquired in the early 1980s for the Lower Manair Dam (LMD) reservoir project, with notifications issued under the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 and an award passed on July 13, 1983. While compensation was paid to the private patta landowners, the petitioners alleged that assigned lands were either excluded or not compensated on par, depriving them of their sole source of livelihood. The petitioners challenged the inaction of officials in failing to consider their representations dated October 25, 2017 and June 27, 2018, and sought directions to grant them compensation in accordance with their entitlement for lands acquired under the Land Acquisition Act, 1894, for the Lower Manair Dam project. The petitioners contended before the Telangana High Court that despite submitting representations on October 25, 2017, and June 27, 2018, seeking compensation on par with patta landowners, authorities failed to take any decision. Their counsel argued that the law is well settled that assignees are entitled to full market value and statutory benefits, and that continued inaction by authorities amounted to a denial of lawful entitlement.
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