Explain The Criteria To Acquire Land For Proposed Ayodhya International Airport: Allahabad High Court Seeks District Admin. Response

The Bench of Justice Rajan Roy and Justice Saurabh Lavania was hearing the plea of the petitioners Panchram Prajapati and others who alleged that their land was being encroached for construction of the Airport in gross violation of their right to property as also to be treated in a fair and reasonable manner.

They submitted that without any acquisition or without their consent, their land, and houses thereon, falling in Village Daramdaspur Shahadat, Tehsil-Sadar, District-Ayodhya were been encroached for the construction of the Airport.

Further, averring that the provisions of the Land Acquisition Act, 2013 was also not being followed, the submitted that there was no criteria fixed as to how the lands are to be acquired or the same are to be purchased.

Lastly, they alleged that since there was the guideline regarding the purchasing of land and at what rate, the District Authorities were acting in an arbitrary manner and were forcibly compelling the petitioners to sell their land at an inadequate rate.

To this, the bench directed the Ayodhya DM as well as the SDM concern and the tehsildar to appear before the Court through Video Conferencing on June 29, 2021 to put forth their factual version in the light of the averments made in the writ petition as to whether the land of the petitioners had been acquired, if not, whether it had been purchased.

The Court put forth the following question:

If the land is being purchased en-masse whether there are any guideline or criteria laid down for the said purpose as to at what rate the land would be purchased and how the consideration would be paid etc?

The Officers have also been directed to apprise the Court as to when the circle rate was last revised.

Lastly, the Court directed:

"Needless to say that if the land of the petitioners has not been acquired, they cannot and would not be compelled to sell their land unless they consent to it."

Case title - Panchram Prajapati & Ors. v. State Of U.P.Thru Prin./Addl. Secy. Revenue Lucknow & Ors.

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