State Must Conclude Land Acquisition Within 'Reasonable Time' After Barring Construction U/S 27 Rajasthan Housing Board Act: High Court

Rajasthan High Court has ruled that notification under Section 27 of the Rajasthan Housing Board Act, 1970 barring construction on a proposed scheme area affects the right to enjoyment of property of landowners and thus, it cannot be allowed to block the property for an indefinite period.

The division bench of Justice Manindra Mohan Shrivastava and Justice Munnuri Laxman held that after issuing the notification, the Housing Board and the State Government are obliged to proceed with the land acquisition proceedings expeditiously and conclude the same within a reasonable period.

Section 27 of the Act provides that pursuant to publishing of notification regarding any scheme in an official gazette and notice being issued to concerned people, no person shall make any new construction or make any additions or alterations in the area covered in the scheme without permission of the Board.

The Court was hearing an appeal filed by the Rajasthan Housing Board (“appellant”) against the order of a single judge wherein it was held that the notice under Section 27 would attain natural demise if the acquisition proceedings were not initiated within reasonable time.

It was argued by the appellant that the judgment was a gross error in law since there was no time limit prescribed under the law for initiating or concluding the land acquisition proceedings.

Rejecting the argument, the Court highlighted that the notification under Section 27 was published way back in 2008, and since then nothing happened. Even in the proceedings initiated by the respondents, whose lands were involved, in 2021, the Board and the State Government did not give any concrete plan to show the steps taken by them to go ahead with the land acquisition.

Furthermore, even in the current proceedings, there was no such proposal presented. Hence, it was observed that,

“Once, a notification under Section 27 of the Act of 1970 is issued, a person cannot undertake any construction activity on his land. However, once notification under Section 27 of the Act of 1970 is issued, the Housing Board and the State Government are obliged to initiate the proceedings for acquisition, if at all the housing scheme so required, within a reasonable period.”

It was ruled that the Housing Board and the State Government were obliged to expeditiously proceed with the land acquisition proceedings, pursuant to publishing of notification under Section 27, and conclude the same within reasonable period.

Accordingly, the notification published in 2008 under Section 27 was held to be no longer valid and the appeals were dismissed.

Title: Rajasthan Housing Board & Ors. v Kuldeep & Anr. and other connected appeals

Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (Raj) 368

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