The purpose of land acquisition must be recorded in the order and must fall within the ambit of the declared purpose.

ORDER :- Sailendra Nath Roy, the petitioner in these proceedings seeks to impugn two orders in respect of the petitioners land under S.3 of the West Bengal Land (Requisition and Acquisition) Act, 1948 both dated the 31st July, 1975.

2. It is recorded in the said order that the purpose of the proposed acquisition is "maintaining supplies and services essential to the life of the community or for providing proper facilities for transport or communication."

3. The lands of the petitioner which are proposed to be acquired are plot No 10172 measuring .089 acres, plot No. 10174 measuring .260 acres and .083 acres of plot No. 10178 the last under the description eastern portion. In the other order the land of the petitioner proposed to be acquired is plot No. 10173 measuring .030 acres.

4. The petitioner contends that

(a) The proposed acquisition is void and illegal inasmuch as Diamond Harbour Road for the widening of which the said land was sought to be acquired was far away from the site.

(b) The real purpose of the proposed acquisition was in no way connected with the recorded purpose and therefore the proposed acquisition was arbitrary and mala fide.

(c) The said orders are bad as they do not contain sufficient particulars of the land proposed to be acquired.

5. A Rule was issued on the 4th August 1975 in the present application calling upon the respondents, namely, the State of West Bengal; the Collector, Alipore, 24-Parganas; the Additional District Magistrate, 24-Parganas, Alipore, the Superintending Engineer, C.M.D.A. and the Surveyors of the Special Land Acquisition Officers, Alipore, calling upon them to show cause why appropriate writs should not be issued directing them to recall and withdraw the impugned orders and why the same should not be set aside or quashed.

6. This Rule is opposed. An affidavit of one Sushil Kumar Chatterjee, the Collector, 24-Parganas, affirmed on the 13th Feb., 1976 has been filed on behalf of the respondent No. 2 in opposition to the petition. It is stated in the said affidavit, inter alia, that the plot No. 10178 contains an area of .163 acres out of which .08 acres containing structures has already been acquired for widening of Diamond Harbour Road. The balance portion of the plot containing an area of .083 acres has been requisitioned in the present proceedings as also the other contiguous plots namely plots Nos. 10172, 10173 and 10174 in connection with and not for the widening of the Road. The land is required for an allied and an incidental purpose, namely, settlement of small traders who had been displaced as a result of dismantling of buildings and structures in other land in widening the road.

7. Learned counsel appearing for the petitioner drew my attention to Section 3 of the West Bengal Land (Requisition and Acquisition) Act, 1948 which, inter alia, provides as follows :-

"If the State Government is of the opinion that it is necessary so to do for maintaining supplies and services essential to the life of the community or for increasing employment opportunities for the people by establishing commercial estates and industrial estates in different areas or for providing proper facilities for transport, communication, irrigation or drainage or for the creation of better living conditions in rural or urban areas, not being............ in industrial or other area excluded by the State Government by a notification in this behalf, by the construction or reconstruction of dwelling places............... in such areas or for the purposes connected therewith or incidental thereto, the State Government may, by order in writing, requisition any land and may make such further orders as appear to it to be necessary or expedient in connection with the requisitioning."

8. Learned counsel submitted that in the instant case the purpose of the proposed acquisition namely the settlement of the small traders had not been recorded in the said orders and that such purpose did not come within the ambit of