The valuation of acquired land and determination of compensation should consider the presence of a well for irrigation and the sale deeds of comparable lands.

JUDGMENT :

Heard.

2. First appeal No. 887/2011 is filed by original claimant for enhancement of compensation and First Appeal No. 852/2011 is filed by Acquiring Body challenging the order passed by Referal Court enhancing the amount of compensation.

3. I have heard both the parties. Considered record and judgments relied by both the parties. The present appeals are filed by claimants as well as Acquiring Body being aggrieved by the judgment and award dated 30/11/2010, rendered by Joint Civil Judge Senior Division, Buldhana in Land Acquisition Case No. 8/2007 filed by the claimant. The Referal Court partly allowed the claim of appellant/claimant and awarded total amount of Rs.2,12,500/- at the rate of Rs.3,61,000/- per hectare. The acquired land is in gat No. 388, admeasuring 1 hectare. It is acquired by Maharashtra Jivan Pradhikaran for Water Supply Scheme. The notification under Section 4 of Land Acquisition Act came to be issued on 05/07/2004. The award came to be passed on 24/08/2005.

4. It is submitted by learned Counsel for appellant/claimant that there is a well, pipe line. The Land Acquisition Officer granted Rs.1,81,500/- per hectare. Being aggrieved by the said award, the claimant filed reference under Section 18 of the Land Acquisition Act on 10/10/2005. In reference he claimed amount of Rs.8,00,000/- per hectare. There were two sale deeds of same village, filed before Referal Court i.e. Exh.27, a sale deed of 28/03/2005. The land in the said sale deed is gat No.2, admeasuring 40 R i.e. near about 1 Acre for sale consideration of Rs. 2,16,000/- per Acre. Another sale instance is Exh.28 of dated 10/06/2004, i.e. gat No. 100, area 31 R, for total consideration of amount of Rs.2,00,000/-. Thus, it comes to Rs.5,00,000/- per hectare. The first sale deed i.e. Exh.27, is of eight months after notification under Section 4, whereas, Exh. 28 is the sale deed, twenty five days prior to the notification.

5. The learned Referal Court though considered the sale deed, however, the amount was not granted as per that sale deed on the ground that the land in the said sale deed yielding cash crops and having irrigation and granted only amount of Rs.3,69,000/- per hectare instead of 5,00,000/- per hectare.

6. Learned Counsel for appellant has drawn my attention to paragraph No. 17 of the judgment, wherein, the learned Referal Court clearly observed that there is a well in the field for irrigation. The Land Acquisition Officer has not granted any amount towards well as the value of the well were not received by the Land Acquisition Officer. The learned Referal Court rightly appreciated that for that reason, the compensation towards well cannot be denied. However, granted only Rs25,000/-, compensation towards well.

7. My attention is also drawn by learned Counsel to the contents of sale deed Exh. 28, from which it is clear that the vendor is having only 11 Paise share and not total well in his ownership. Still, amount of consideration was Rs.2,00,000/- per Acre.

8. Learned Counsel Shri Kalwaghe for appellant/claimant relied on judgment in Chindha Fakira Patil (dead) through L.Rs. Vs. Special Land Acquisition Officer, Jalgaon, (2011) 10 SCC 787, wherein, Hon’ble Apex Court held that :

“21. When it was not in dispute that there were wells in the acquired land, the mere fact that the appellants had not cultivated sugarcane or wheat cannot lead to an inference that the land was not irrigated and, in our view, there was no valid reason for the High Court to interfere with the finding recorded by the Reference Court that parts of the lands were Bagayat and for such land they were entitled to compensation @ Rs. 6 lacs per hectare.”

9. As against this, learned Counsel for respondent vehemently opposed the appeal and also submitted that the enhanced compensation by Referal Court itself is not proper. He has pointed out from the cross of claimant that he admitted that acquired land used to sub merge in the water of Yelgaon dam since 2001. He w