Darshan Lal Kothari v. Mr. Vaibhav Trivedi and Ms. Vandana Singh, Counsel for the

Mr. Shyam Singh, Joint Secretary, Public Works Department, Dehradun, which are extracted below: “7. That as per the decision of the Hon'ble High Court dated 27.04.2019, for Khatauni No. 0054 Khasra No. 121 B, area 950 square meter land of Mr Darshanlal Kothari. Joint Secretary, Public Works Department, Uttarakhand Government was nominated as inquiry officer to examine the records. On examination it was found that the consent letter (bearing signatures of 20 villagers) was given by the Gram Sabha for the construction of the advanced motor road but signature of Darshanlal Kothari was not taken, there was a discrepancy in the consent given by Mr. Kothari for the construction of the said road. There is no record available with the department which clearly shows that the construction work has been done by acquiring the land of Shri Darshanlal Kothari without his consent which is also mentioned in Shri Kothari's letter dated 23.10.2017. In pursuance of the order passed by the Hon'ble High Court dated 27.04.2019, an estimate of compensation amount of Rs 1,06,18,40000 was prepared. If the consent of Shri Kothari had been taken by the departmental officers at the time of acquisition of the land, then the compensation for Kothari's land would have been determined as per the rates fixed for compensation (the rate at which compensation has been given to other landowners) neither such situation would have arisen nor the department be liable for the said amount of compensation.

12. That in reply to the contents of para 5 of the writ petition, it is submitted that the land of the petitioner has 2 been acquired on mutual consent, as such it was not duly acquired under the Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013. Further, it is also to be mentioned that in the light of the direction dated 27.04.2019 passed by the Hon'ble Court vide Government Office Memorandum No. 2446/111 dated 11.07.2019 Mr. S.S. Tolia, Joint Secretary, PWD, Uttarakhand Government was nominated as the investigating officer. Mr. R.C. Sharma, Special Officer to the Honorable Chief Minister Uttarakhand, Dehradun was instructed to cooperate in the investigation. True copy of the office memorandum dated 11.07.2019 is being filed herewith and marked as Annexure No.CA-7 to this affidavit. It is further to be mentioned that in compliance of the order dated 27.04.2019 passed by the Hon'ble Court and as per the Act 2013, assessment the land was done as per the circle rate of Solaceum. Following proposal was sent for approval by the Executive Engineer, Temporary Section, PWD, Rishikesh

1. Area acquired for motor road 2. Circle rate determined by Collector

816.80 square meters Rs. 6500/ per m2 dated 12.01.2018

3.3. Market Price in case of urban area 1 Rs. 5309200/ X1

4. 100 percent molasses under Section 30 of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 - Rs. 5309200/per m2 Therefore, the total amount of compensation payable- Rs. 10618400/ Registry fee 2 percent- Rs. 212368/ Other fees Rs. 10000/ Total Rs. 1,08,40,768/ only True copy of the letter which shows the calculation of area is being filed herewith and marked as Annexure No.CA-8 to this affidavit, In view of letter no. 81/25 Budget (Compensation Payment RRO)/2019-20 dated 09.10.2019 and as per the financial management system IFMS approved in the state from 01.04.2019, a total amount of Rs 2,83,06,932/- was allocated for payment of damage compensation. True copy of the letter dated 09.10.2019 is being filed herewith and marked as Annexure No.CA-9 to this affidavit. It is further to be mentioned that, Executive Engineer, Temporary Division, Public Works Department, Rishikesh wrote to the petitioner through various letters to get his land demarcated and to make the related original records available in the division. But following request was made by petitioner to District Magistrate Dehradun through his representation dated 12.11.2018 to the District Magistrate Dehradun and to the Executive Engineer Temporary Division, PWD, Rishikesh: S. No. 1 Rate @ 800/- per sq. meter Total Ammount Rs. 76,00,000/- 2 3 4 Description Cost of 950 sq. meter acquires Cost of 02 trees Solatium Interest Grand Total @ Rs. 2,50,000/- Solatium @ 18% per annum for 5 Rs. 5,00,000/- 81,00,000/- Rs. 54,72,000/-

2.16.72.000/ 3 In relation to the above calculation, it has to be mentioned before the Honorable Court that the petitioner has calculated the amount for 950 square meters @ Rs. 8000/- per square meter, whereas, In compliance with the decision dated 27.04.2019 passed by the Hon'ble Court in Writ Petition No. 850/MS/2019 of as per the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act 2013 is calculated land of the petitioner on the total area of 816.80 square meters. Thus, as per the calculations done by the concerned section, funds were allocated vide letter dated 09.10.2019.”

4. The relief as claimed by the petitioner cannot be granted in a writ petition. Adjudication as regards market value of the land cannot be made in writ proceedings under Article 226 of the Constitution, as it would involve adjudication of disputed questions of fact. Writ petition is, accordingly, disposed of with liberty to the petitioner to approach the competent authority under the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 for determination of compensation. If petitioner makes application before the competent authority within four weeks from today, competent authority shall examine the matter and pass appropriate order, as per law, within nine months thereafter.

5. It goes without saying that all stakeholders including State Public Works Department reasonable opportunity of hearing before taking any decision in the matter. (Manoj Kumar Tiwari, J.)

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