ORDER:

This Writ Petition, under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, is filed by the petitioner herein, with the following prayer:

“….to pass an order, or orders, direction or directions, or issue a writ, more particularly in the nature of Writ of Mandamus, (i) Direct the respondents herein to initiate the Land Acquisition proceedings according to the provisions of the Right to Fair Compensation & Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation & Resettlement Act 2013 and pay compensation in respect of acquired land of the petitioner i.e.1 acre 32 guntas situated in Sy.No.17/2 of Dhondapur (Dhodapur) village, Mandal Mudhole, (erstwhile Basar) District Nirmal (erstwhile Adilabad); (ii) Direct the respondents to pay the sum of Rs. 10,00,000/- to the petitioner apart from the compensation awarded in pursuant to 2013 Act for not paying the said compensation since 2004-2005 (ili) and consequently declare the action of respondents herein in acquiring above said land without due process of law and without payment of compensation is illegal, arbitrary, violative of Article 14, 21 & 300-A, 31-A of the Constitution of India and against the mandatory provisions of Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation & Re-settlement Act 2013, and to pass any such other order orders as this Honorable Court may deemed fit and proper in the circumstances of the case.”

2. The case of the petitioner is that for the purpose of construction of a Silt Arresting Tank across the local stream near Bidrelly and Dhondapur (Dhodapur) Villages, the respondents acquired petitioner’s land situated in Sy.No.17/2 of Dhondapur (Dhodapur) Village during the year 2004–2005. Pursuant thereto, the Special Deputy Collector conducted land acquisition proceedings and passed an Award dated 25.02.2005 in File No.C/1268/2003, wherein acquisition was shown only to an extent of Ac.0-21 guntas, and compensation was accordingly paid. However, according to the petitioner, though an additional extent of Ac.1-32 guntas was also acquired and submerged during execution of the work, the same was omitted from the award on account of erroneous survey and measurement and no compensation was paid therefor.

3. The petitioner further contends that from the year 2004–2005 onwards, the petitioner had been making repeated oral and written representations before the concerned authorities seeking re-survey of the land and payment of compensation for the omitted extent of Ac.1-32 guntas. It is contended that ultimately, in the year 2014, a survey was conducted and the Executive Engineer, through Letter No.DB/HD1/D1/523/14 dated 17.10.2014, reported that a total extent of Ac.2-13 guntas in Sy.No.17/2 had in fact submerged during execution of the work, whereas compensation had been paid only for Ac.0-21 guntas, thereby acknowledging non-payment of compensation for the remaining Ac.1-32 guntas, and consequently submitted land acquisition proposals along with survey report and map.

4. The petitioner contends that acting upon the said report, the respondents initiated proceedings under the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013, by issuing a Preliminary Notification under Section 11(1) dated 11.05.2015 in respect of the extent of 1 acre 32 guntas in Sy.No.17/2, and thereafter sought approval, publication and allocation of funds for completion of the acquisition proceedings. It is contended that despite issuance of notices, inter-departmental correspondence, legal notice dated 10.03.2017, and subsequent communications seeking budget allocation, the respondents failed to take further steps to conclude the proceedings and pay compensation to the petitioner.

5. The petitioner contends that the action of the respondents in taking possession of the petitioner’s land and depriving the petitioner of the source of livelihood without following due process of law and without payment o