The requisition and acquisition of lands for a public purpose is valid and in accordance with the provisions of the West Bengal Land (Requisition and Acquisition) Act, 1948, even if the lands are not religious, educational, or charitable institutions.

( 1 ) AS many as 92 writ petitioners who are all residents of village Bhatipota, Mouza Gangapur, P. S. Bhangore, Dist. South 24-Parganas have filed the present writ petition challenging the requisition and acquisition processes initiated by the authorities of the State Government in respect of their lands apartaining to Gangapur mouza for the purpose of setting up an integrated leather complex there. As submitted, it is the case of the petitioners that they are in occupation of the concerned lands either as owners or as Bargadars and they are all cultivators and have cultivated their high yielding lands from which they maintain their livelihood and the State Government cannot requisition such lands for the aforesaid purpose and at any rate before taking possession of the lands the State Government should prepare appropriate scheme for rehabilitation of the land losers. It is also contended that so much of land as sought to be acquired by the Government is not necessary for the purported purpose and at any rate other suitable lands elsewhere may be available for the purpose instead of acquiring the high yielding agricultural lands of the petitioners. It is also the contention of the petitioners that so much of lands as contemplated by the Government for the purpose of taking possession to set up the leather complex will not be at all necessary and a lesser quantity of land will serve the purpose. It is the further contention of the petitioners that all the petitioners have not received any notice in this respect as required under law. Accordingly the petitioners have prayed for direction upon the respondents to refrain from taking possession of the concerned lands or in any way distributing the cultivation and the actual possession of the lands without following the procedure laid down in the statute and without preparing proper scheme for proper rehabilitation and offering means of survival to each land loser. It is also the prayer of the petitioners that the respondents may be directed to assess before possession is taken as to how much land will be actually necessary and whether cultivable lands can be excluded from the scope of acquisition, and also to pay actual compensation and damage to the petitioners whose lands should be decided to be acquired or requisitioned. This writ petition was filed on 28th January, 1994 and a learned Judge of this court passed an interim order on 4. 2. 94 restraining the respondents from proceeding any further on the basis of the order passed on 17th November, 1993 for requisitioning the lands mentioned in the said order, and the parties were directed to maintain status-quo in respect of the said lands.

( 2 ) AN affidavit in opposition was affirmed on behalf of the respondents. It is the case of the respondents that the Directorate of Cottage and Small Scale Industries, West Bengal had approached the Land and Land Reforms Department for requisition and subsequent acquisition of a vast quantity of lands to set up an integrated leather complex in mouza Gangapur, Bhati-pota and Kariadanga under P. S. Bhangore and accordingly considering the public utility of the project the Land and Land Reforms Department approved the proposal and directed the Collector and Dist. Magistrate, South 24-Paraganas to start a proceeding under the West Bengal Land (Acquisition and Requisition) Act II, 1948. It is also stated in the affidavit-in-opposition that the said proposal was checked and the areas so desired by the requiring body for constituting the leather complex was reconciled with the land schedule and plan as submitted by the requiring body alongwith the report received from the Block Land and Land Reforms Officer, Bhangore and the primary inspection was completed on 16th November, 1993 and requisition order was passed on 17th November, 1993 as per provisions laid down in section 3 (1) of the West Bengal Land (Requisition and Acquisition) Act II, 1948 for an area of 526. 36 acres