Public authorities may enter private property for utility expansion, compensating landowners for damages under specified laws.

ORDER

1. Mr. Chandramal resident of Alamgirpur, Ghanaur, Post Sahhakari Nagar, District Bulandshahr has sent the present letter petition by Post, which is treated and registered as original application, complaining that lakhs of trees have been cut by M/s Western U.P. Power Company Ltd. 400/200/33 KV Kala Pathar, Jadirapuram, Ghaziabad for laying 765 KW line from Mainpuri to Hapur without permission from the concerned Authorities damaging the environment. The applicant has also sought issuance of directions for payment of just compensation to him for cutting of/damage to his trees.

2. We have gone through the letter petition and documents attached with the same.

3. The Indian Telegraph Act, 1885 empowers the licencee to simply enter upon any private land and carry out necessary works by invoking Sections 10 and 11 and cut interrupting trees under Section 18 thereof without the prior consent of the owner who could claim compensation under Section 18 and enhancement thereof under Section 16 thereof. Public interest in execution of the works was given weightage over private interest of the land owner.

Section 10 , 16 and 18 of the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885 read as under:-

10. Power for telegraph authority to place and maintain telegraph lines and posts.The telegraph authority may, from time to time, place and maintain a telegraph line under, over, along, or across, and posts in or upon, any immovable property:

Provided that

(a) the telegraph authority shall not exercise the powers conferred by this section except for the purposes of a telegraph established or maintained by the Central Government, or to be so established or maintained;

(b) the Central Government shall not acquire any right other than that of user only in the property under, over, along, across, in or upon which the telegraph authority places any telegraph line or post; and (c) except as hereinafter provided, the telegraph authority shall not exercise those powers in respect of any property vested in or under the control or management of any local authority, without the permission of that authority; and (d) in the exercise of the powers conferred by this section, the telegraph authority shall do as little damage as possible, and when it has exercised those powers in respect of any property other than that referred to in clause (c), shall pay full compensation to all persons interested for any damage sustained by them by reason of the exercise of those powers.

16. Exercise of powers conferred by section 10, and disputes as to compensation, in case of property other than that of a local authority.

(1) If the exercise of the powers mentioned in section 10 in respect of property referred to in clause (d) of that section is resisted or obstructed, the District Magistrate may, in his discretion, order that the telegraph authority shall be permitted to exercise them.

(2) If, after the making of an order under sub-section (1), any person resists the exercise of those powers, or, having control over the property, does not give all facilities for their being exercised, he shall be deemed to have committed an offence under section 188 of the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860).

(3) If any dispute arises concerning the sufficiency of the compensation to be paid under section 10, clause (d), it shall, on application for that purpose by either of the disputing parties to the District Judge within whose jurisdiction the property is situate, be determined by him.

(4) If any dispute arises as to the persons entitled to receive compensation, or as to the proportions in which the persons interested are enti