JUDGMENT

R.C. Lahoti, J.-In the early eighties large tracts of land were acquired in the State of Orissa by invoking the provisions of Land Acquisition Act, 1894 for establishing an aluminium smelter plant and other ancillary industries, civil township and supporting services. For the purpose of assessing the compensation to be awarded to several land-owners whose land was acquired an assessment report was called by the Land Acquisition Officer. The land consists of two kinds : (i) Sarad-I Dofasali, and (ii) Taila. During the course of hearing we were told by the learned counsel for the parties that in the local language a fertile or cultivated land is called Sarad and Sarad-I Dofasali land is one on which two crops can be taken. Taila is a barren land. The assessment report appointed the value of cultivable land at Rs. 12,500/- per acre and of barren land at Rs. 7,500/- per acre. On 27.5.1982 the Collector of District Dhenkanal, where the land is situated, addressed a letter to the Divisional Commissioner stating that the rates of land appointed by the assessment report were on the lower side and he recommended that Rs. 22,000/- and Rs. 12,500/- respectively per acre would be reasonable rates for fixing the compensation. The Land Acquisition Officer made an award accepting the rates suggested by the Collector. The dissatisfied landowners sought for a reference to the Civil Court requesting for enhancement of the quantum of compensation.

2. The learned Sub-Judge after recording evidence arrived at a finding that a rate of Rs. 40,000/- per acre for Sarad land and a rate of Rs. 30,000/- per acre for Taila land would be reasonable rates at which the compensation should be awarded. A perusal of the judgment of the trial Court shows that so far as Sarad-I Dofasali land is concerned there was no evidence adduced by either party of contemporaneous transactions of land so as to determine the market rate prevailing in the area and therefore the court applied the capitalisation method of determination of value based on the net annual yield of the land. The learned Trial Judge determined the annual net yield of the land at Rs. 2,000/- per acre and then by capitalising the same by applying a multiplier of 20, determined the value of the land at Rs. 40,000/- per acre. The finding as to the value of Taila land was based on the inference drawn from evidence of transactions of sale of land adduced by the parties.

3. The High Court upheld the assessment of annual yield of Sarad land as found by the trial Court. However, the learned Single Judge was of the opinion that multiplier of 20 as applied by the trial Court was on the higher side and a multiplier of 16 only should have been adopted. Accordingly the value of Sarad land has been determined at Rs. 32,000/- per acre. As to Taila land the High Court formed an opinion that the rate of Rs. 30,000/- per acre determined by the trial Court could not be applied uniformally to all the land acquired. The High Court chose to adopt belting system by categorising the Taila land into three categories, namely, (i) land near the national highway, (ii) land by the side of the gram panchayat road, and (iii) other such lands which are not road-side lands and appointed the value thereof respectively at Rs. 35,000/-, Rs. 30,000/- and Rs. 25,000/- per acre. Having so determined the rate of the land the High Court found that several places of land belonging to different landowners needed to be categorised and as satisfactory evidence in that regard was not available on the record, remanded the case to the trial Court for holding further enquiry so as to determine into which out of the three categories of Taila land the acquired pieces of land fell.

4. Feeling aggrieved by the judgment of the High Court, the National Aluminium Co. Ltd., for the benefit of which the land acquisition has taken place, have come up in appeal.

5. We have heard the learned counsel for the parties. Ordinarily, the most ac