The acquisition of land for a defence project is covered under the definition of 'project' in section 2(10) of the Maharashtra Project Affected Persons Rehabilitation Act, 1986.

JUDGMENT - A.D. MANE, J.:---This petition arises out of rejection of petitioner's request to issue a certificate as Project Affected person.

2. The petitioner is an agriculturist and he possesses lands situated at village Karjune Khare, Taluka Nagar. The petitioner submits that total 5 acres and 27 gunthas lands out of Survey Nos. 241/3, 241/5, 241/7, 237/2 and 258/14 were acquired for the defence project. The Special Land Acquisition Officer No. 1, Ahmednagar, issued a certificate on 2-6-1997 stating that the petitioner's land was acquired for K.K. Ranges Project. The petitioner, relying upon the said certificate, Exhibit 'A' annexed with the petition, submits that the respondent No. 3 -District Rehabilitation Officer - is empowered to issue the certificate as Project Affected person. Petitioner's application, however, was rejected for issuance of certificate as Project Affected person by communication received by him from the Tahsildar on 14-8-1994 informing that in the record of rights the entry in the name of 'Defence Department' was entered into.

3. The petitioner applied to the respondent No. 3 the District Rehabilitation Officer, Ahmednagar on 4th June 1997 for issuance of certificate as Project Affected person but his application came to be rejected by communication received by him on 12-6-1997 from the respondent No. 2 Collector and the Deputy Director of Rehabilitation (Lands), Ahmednagar. The respondent No. 2 rejected application for such certificate on the ground that such certificate cannot be issued as the acquisition was made for the purpose of ranges and the same is not covered by the provisions of the Maharashtra Project Affected Persons Rehabilitation Act, 1986.

4. The question, therefore, arises whether acquisition of land for defence project of the Union of India is covered under the definition of 'project' within the meaning of section 2(10) of the Maharashtra Project Affected Persons Rehabilitation Act, 1986 (for short, 'the Act').

5. The affidavit filed on behalf of respondents No. 1 to 3 is on the same line on the basis of reasons assigned for rejection of issuance of certificate to the petitioner by the Collector.

6. The definition of 'project' in sub-section (10) of section 2 of the Act reads as under :--

" 'project' means,---

(a) an irrigation project, that is to say, the construction, extension, improvement or development of any work for the supply of water for the purpose of irrigation,

(b) a power project, that is to say, construction, extension, improvement or development of any work for the supply of electricity or any work conducive to electrical development;

(c) a public utility project, that is to say, any work of the construction, extension, improvement or development of public utility other than irrigation project and power project; or

(d) any composite project of any of the two or more such projects;

and includes any work of construction, extension, improvement or development which is incidental or supplemental to the execution of a project; and which may be used for such project, as affected person and in respect of which a notification is issued under section 11."

"Affected Person" is also defined in sub-section (2) of section 2 of the Act and that reads as under :---

" "Affected Person" means,---

(a) an occupant whose land in the affected zone (including land in the gaothan) is acquired under section 14 for the purpose of a project;

Explanation:---For the purposes of this sub-clause, where any agricultural land is recorded in the relevant village records in the name of one of the brothers as a Karta or Manager of a Hindu Joint family then every brother (or son or sons of any deceased brother all together as one unit) who has a share in the land whether his name is recorded in such village record or not, shall be treated as affected person;

(b) a person who is a tenant in actual possession of land under the relevant tenancy bye-law in the affected zone at the time of acquisition of land;

(c) an

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