COMMON JUDGMENT and ORDER: (Per Hon’ble Sri Justice A. Hari Haranadha Sarma)

Introductory:-

(i) These batch of appeals are filed under Section 54 of the Land Acquisition Act 1894, arising out of a batch of references in terms of Section 18 of the Land Acquisition Act, traceable to Award No.14 of 2005 Roc.No.A.100/2003 passed by the Special Tahsildar(LA), Jangareddigudem dated 28.02.2005 under Section11(1) of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 [for short referred as ‘the Act’] pursuant to the notification under Section 4(1) of the Land Acquisition Act, invoking urgency of the provisions under Land Acquisition Act, dispensing with enquiry under Section 5-A of the Act, which was approved in the proceedings of West Godavari Collector vide ROC.G3/5885/2003 dated 20.10.2003, and it was published in A.P. Gazette Extraordinary No.29 dated 24.10.2003, and notification was also published in local newspapers, Eenadu and Eluru Times.

(ii) I.A.No.1 of 2025 is filed by appellant in LAAS.No.281 of 2018 under Order-41 Rule-27 of CPC seeking permission to submit additional evidence.

2. The details of the land acquired, compensation awarded claimant wise and respective proceedings before the Reference Court with the appeal Numbers before this Court are as follows:-

3. For the sake of convenience, the parties will be hereinafter referred to as and how they are referred before the Reference Court.

4. Heard the learned Advocate General appearing for the State/Land Acquisition Officer and Sri P. Gopal Das, learned counsel appearing for the claimants.

5. References made in terms of Section 18 of the Act were taken on file as LAOPs mentioned in above table by the Referral Court and they were decided under Common Judgment dated 29.03.2018 by the I Additional District Judge, West Godavari, Eluru (hereinafter referred as ‘the Referral Court’).

6. Feeling dissatisfied by the decree and judgement passed by the learned Referral Court, both the claimant and the Referral Officer filed the appeals. The details of the appeals connected to the LAOPs are mentioned in the above table.

7. Common arguments are advanced by the both counsel on record in respect of all the (20) matters. Since the matters substantially involving similar questions of fact and law, barring the deference as to the extent of land acquired and trees available on lands claimant-wise, these appeals are now answered by this common Judgement.

Facto Matrix:-

8. [i] Land covering various Survey Numbers including R.S.Nos.1/2, 1/8A, 1/9A, 53/5A2 etc., of Vallampatla Village of T. Narasapuram Mandal, West Godavari District in an extent of 105.79 cents was acquired for foreshore submersion area under Yerra Kalava Reservoir project for public purpose, invoking the urgency provisions under Section 17 (4) of the Land Acquisition Act, dispensing with the enquiry under Section 5-A of the Land Acquisition Act.

[ii] The Land Acquisition Officer after obtaining registration statistics in the vicinity of the lands under acquisition and on inspection of the lands under acquisition as well as the lands covered by the sales transactions fixed the market value. He has considered the sales of the year 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003 and observed that lands involved in acquisition are being cultivated with wet paddy, sugar cane, cashew nut and mango gardens, coconut with coco as inter crop. Bamboo garden and oil palm gardens with availability of bore wells in respect of certain lands.

[iii] Taking into consideration his discrete enquiries and the sale transactions etc., fixed the rate of land @Rs.57,000/- per acre along with statutory benefits i.e., 30% solatium etc.. In respect of certain lands consent Award was passed by awarding @Rs.1,00,000/- per acre inclusive of all benefits, whereas some land owners like the present claimants, demanded for higher compensation and refused to give consent, hence, the award under challenge is passed, observing that the concerned authorities have fixed the abnormal rates for certain lands of Bamboo garde