This common judgment shall dispose all the above four appeals which arise out of the common judgment and award, dated 29/8/2002, passed by the learned Additional District Judge, South Goa (Reference Court, for short) in Land Acquisition Cases No. 228/1993, 229/1993, 230/1993 and 231/1993.

2. The applicants as well as the respondents are the same in all the said four cases. The parties shall hereinafter be referred to in the manner in which they appear in the cause title of the said land acquisition cases.

3. Vide notification published under Section 4(1) of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 (L. A. Act, for short), in the Official Gazette dated 27/8/1987, land was acquired for improvement and black topping of Gorvotte road in V. P. Nuvem of Salcete Taluka. This included an area of 460 square metres of land from survey no. 66/1 of Nuvem village. The Land Acquisition Officer (L.A.O., for short) offered compensation at the rate of Rs. 5/-per square metre to the acquired land. Not being satisfied with the said offer, the applicants filed application under section 18 of the L.A. Act before the L.A.O., which culminated into the four above referred Land Acquisition cases.

4. Since th