Urgency proceedings under Section 17 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894, can be initiated for any land needed for a public purpose, regardless of whether it is waste or arable.

G.C.Bharuka, J.

1. The present writ application has been filed by the petitioner seeking quashing of the entire proceeding in Land Acquisition Case No. 125 of 1986-87 pending before the Special Land Acquisition Officer, In. T.P.C. Kahalgaon, Respondent No. 3, and for other consequential reliefs.

2. The State Government has initiated impugned land acquisition proceeding in respect of certain lands including that of the petitioner for carrying out a Super Thermal Power Project undertaken by the National Thermal Power Corporation (hereinafter to be referred to as the Corporation only).

3. In the present case the petitioner is disputing the acquisition of 35 decimals of land of Kata No. 1141, R.S. Plot No. 10 (New) in Mauza Mahesn Munda, P.S. Kahalgaon, District Bhagalpur.

4. Before entering into the grounds of challenge raised on behalf of the petitioner, it may be stated that in C.W.J.C. No. 2008 of 1985 and analogous cases, which were heard along with the present writ application and have been disposed of only today, it has been held that the provisions of Land Acquisition Act, 1894, as amended by the Central Act No. 68 of 1984, will be the law applicable for acquisition of lands in the State of Bihar, it has also been held in those cases that Official Gezette would mean the Bihar Gazette and, therefore, the notifications which are meant to be published under the provisions of the Act, have to be published in Bihar Gazette so as to make the proceedings valid.

5. So far as the purpose of acquisition of the land is concerned, there cannot be any dispute that the acquisition is for a public purpose within the meaning of Clause (f) of Sec. 3 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 .

6. Shri Y.V. Giri, learned Counsel for the petitioner has challenged the impugned proceeding, inter alia, on the grounds that,

(i) His 35 decimals of lands, which are sought to be acquired in the impugned acquisition proceeding are part of his factory i.e. Stone Crusher and, as such, the same cannot be deemed to be waste or arable land and, as such, urgency proceedings contemplated under Sec. 17 of the Act cannot be applied.

(ii) Necessary steps for acquisition, like, publication in the Official Gazette and in two Newspapers as required under Sec. 4 of the Act, have not been taken.

7. So far as the first ground of challenge is concerned, it is not in dispute that 35 decimals of lands in question are vacant lands. These lands may be contiguous to the lands over which the Stone Crusher of the petitioner is located, nonetheless no structure is admittedly standing thereon.

8. Now in view of 1984 amendment, for the application of Sec. 17 of the Act it is not necessary that the lands sought to be acquired should be waste or arable. Urgency proceedings contemplated under Sec. 17 of the Act can now be initiated "for taking possession of any land needed for a public purpose." Thus the first ground of challenge raised on behalf of the petitioner fails.

9. So far as the necessity and urgency for acquiring the lands in question is concerned, it is well demonstrated by assertions made on behalf of the Corporation in its Supplementary Counter Affidavit, wherein it has been stated that:

That the 35 decimals of land sought to be acquired, and which are the subject matter of the abovementioned writ application, are extremely crucial for the timely completion and functioning of the Super Thermal Power Project and by virtue of the interim order passed by this Hon ble Court, serious National prejudice and loss is being cussed. The petitioner in the event of his success in the present application can well be compensated in monetary terms to be determined on the basis of the date the writ application may be allowed (para 3 of Supp). counter affidavit). That the subject land is required for making the earthen embankment around the make up Water System for which the land has already been acquired. Laying of 03 Nos. of mild steel pipes of 1.2 metres dia has also to be done in