application in a prescribed format, praying for settlement/allotment of the said land under his possession in Dag No. 1563 under Harisinga Revenue Circle, Tangla. The said application was processed by the Circle Officer, Harisinga Revenue Circle and necessary report therein was obtained from the jurisdictional Lot Mandal. Thereafter, the proposal for settlement/allotment of Government land as prayed for by the petitioner was forwarded by the Circle Officer, Harisinga Revenue Circle, Tangla to the Member Secretary, Land Advisory Board cum Circle Officer, Karaibari Revenue Circle for consideration.

4. The said proposal, as submitted by the jurisdictional Circle Officer not being considered by the concerned authority, the petitioner, approached the writ Court by way of filing a writ petition being WP(C) No. 5581/2022. The writ Court, vide order dated 07.02.2024, was pleased to dispose of the said writ petition with a direction to the respondent authorities to bring the process involved to its logical conclusion with utmost expediency. The learned Single Judge had required the consideration of the proposal to be made by the respondent authorities in strict compliance of the extended rules and regulations.

5. Subsequent to disposal of the said writ petition being WP(C) No. 5581/2022, the Secretary, BTC, vide communication dated 10.07.2024; intimated the jurisdictional Circle Officer about the approval granted by the BTC to the proposal for settlement of land in favour of the appellant. In terms of the said communication, a plot of land measuring 1K-10L covered by Dag No. 1563 in Tangla town was approved to be so settled/allotted in favour of the appellant. The said communication further provided that the land record may be corrected after realization of the premium of the appellant herein. Thereafter, the jurisdictional Circle Officer, vide communication dated 15.10.2024, estimated the premium required to be paid by the appellant for settlement/allotment of the land at Rs. 18,00,000/- by considering the value of land at the rate of Rs. 60,00,000/- per Bigha. Being aggrieved with the rate at which the premium has been so determined by the respondent authorities in respect of the land allotted to the appellant herein, the appellant herein, had approached the writ Court by way of instituting WP(C) No. 7052/2024.

6. The learned Single Judge, upon hearing the learned counsels appearing for the parties and also considering the materials coming on record, was pleased vide Judgment and Order dated 07.02.2025, to dismiss the said writ petition, rejecting the claim made therein by the appellant herein. The operative portion of the Judgment and Order dated 07.02.2025, being relevant, is extracted herein below: -

“13. It is noticed that by the Circle Officer, Harisinga Revenue Circle forwarded the proposal for allotment/settlement in respect of the subject-plot to the Member Secretary, Land Settlement Advisory Board, Bhergaon on 28.12.2010, with a favourable report mentioning that at that point of time, valuation per Bigha was Rs. 2,00,000/- per Katha Rs. 40,000/-.

14. This Court is of the considered view that mere pendency of an application for allotment/settlement of land does not create any vested right in an applicant. Right accrues only when approval is accorded by the competent authority. The reason is that approval is accorded after examining a host of factors and on the basis of the scrutiny of application, including eligibility and status of the applicant and the documents submitted therewith. The application goes through scrutiny at various levels and the eligibility of the applicant is to be examined qua the extant Land Policy. There is always a possibility of an application not meeting the requisite criteria for according approval for settlement, meaning thereby, there is always a possibility of rejection of an application. Until and unless an application complete in all respects is approved, it remains an application only and no right