The court upheld the validity of the notification under Section 73(c) of the Orissa Land Reforms Act, 1960, and determined that the challenges to the alienation of Government land and the private purchases made by KVK were without merit.

JUDGMENT

INDRAJIT MAHANTY, J.

1. The present batch of writ applications has come to be filed by the petitioner Charidesa Krusak Surakhya Sangha and several land losers seeking to challenge the validity of the acquisition of land made by the Industrial Development Corporation of Odisha (hereinafter referred to as the IDCO) for the purpose of setting up a thermal power plant by M/s. KVK Nilachal Pvt. Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as the KVK).

2. At the commencement of hearing, we requested the learned counsel for the respective parties in this batch of cases to make out categories on the issues raised and to bunch the various cases in each such category. Accordingly, on the consent of the learned counsel representing the various parties, four categories were made. This judgment relates to issues under Categories - II & III as noted herein-below:–

Category - II & III

Challenge to the alienation of Government land under the OGLS Act, illegal sale of Government land, illegal sale of SC & ST, Smashan, common land.

Challenge to the validity of Notification u/s. 73(c) of the Odisha Land Reforms Act, 1960 as well as challenge to the private purchases made by KVK for its thermal power plant.

8. W.P. (C) No. 2065 of 2010

9. W.P. (C) No. 7303 of 2011

10. W.P. (C) No. 11738 of 2009

11. W.A. No. 211 of 2012

12. W.A. No. 15988 of 2009

13. W.P. (C) No. 27845 of 2011

3. For the convenience of adjudication, we have proceeded to deal with the aforesaid cases category-wise and accordingly, the present judgment is confined to the issues raised in Categories-II & III Category-II & III Challenge to the alienation of Government land under the OGLS Act, illegal sale of Government land, illegal sale of SC & ST, Smashan, common land. Challenge to the validity of Notification u/s. 73(c) of the Odisha Land Reforms Act, 1960 as well as challenge to the private purchases made by KVK for its thermal power plant.

4. Since in the connected judgment delivered today in W.P. (C) Nos. 6715 of 2011 along with batch of writ applications, the factual background of challenge has been noted in detail therein, for the sake of brevity, the same is not being repeated herein.

5. We will now record the submissions of the respective parties in relation to the following challenges.

Category – II Challenge to the alienation of Government land under the OGLS Act, illegal sale of Government land, illegal sale of SC & ST, Smashan, common land.

Category – III Validity of Notification u/s. 73(c) of the Odisha Land Reforms Act, 1960 as well as challenge to the private purchases made by KVK for its thermal power plant respectively.

6. Mr. Jayant Das, learned Senior Advocate for the petitioners submits that the entire land covered in present case is agricultural land and governed by the Orissa Land Reforms Act, 1960. It is alleged that KVK illegally purchased land in this area in violation of mandatory provisions of the Odisha Land Reforms Act, 1960. It is also alleged that KVK made certain illegal purchases by manipulating documents showing government land and communal land as private land.

Apart from the above illegalities, KVK could not have put to use the entire area which is covered under the O.L.R. Act with agricultural land and the ownership/holding in the hands of KVK could not also exceed the ceiling since their holding exceeds the maximum quantity of land permissible under the O.L.R. Act.

7. Reliance was placed on Section 73(c) of the O.L.R. Act and challenge is also made to a notification issued by the State of Odisha dated 8th December, 2008 purportedly under Section 73(c) of the O.L.R. Act declaring that the land in the four villages from where land was acquired for KVK is reserved for industrial development subject to the provisions of the Odisha Resettlement and Rehabilitation Policy 2006. It is alleged that the issue of the aforesaid notification after signing the MOU and after issue of notification of Section 4(1) of the Land Acquisition Act and after privately purchasing lan