Shrivastava, J.

1. This appeal by the Collector, Raigarh, under Section 54 of the Land Acquisition Act (hereinafter referred to as the Act) is directed against the award of the 2nd Additional District Judge, Rai-garh, in Misc. Judicial Cases Nos. 13 and 14 of 1958. The award was made on a reference under Section 18 of the Act by the Collector, Raigarh, in Land Acquisition cases relating to village Ren-galpali, Tahsil Raigarh, District Raigarh. The respondents have filed a cross-objection requesting for raising the compensation awarded to them by the 2nd Additional District Judge. This judgment governs the disposal of both the appeal and the cross-objection.

2. The Orissa Government has constructed an irrigation tank under the Hirakund Dam Project. Several villages of the Raigarh Tahsil have been fully or partly submerged under water of the tank. At the instance of the Orissa Government, the State Government of Madhya Pradesh issued notifications under Sections A and 6 of the Act for acquisition of lands in those villages for the tank. The lands belonging to the respondents and several other persons have been acquired giving rise to a number of acquisition cases from each vil