How can you claim land after taking compensation: SC asks farmers

New Delhi, Feb 4 (IANS) The Supreme Court Wednesday asked farmers of villages in Noida, Greater Noida and Noida Extension as to how they could seek restoration of their land after they accepted compensation for parting with it.

A bench of Chief Justice H.L. Dattu, Justice A.K. Sikri and Justice Arun Mishra sought the farmers' response during the hearing of a batch of petitions by farmers of 65 villages located in Noida, Greater Noida and Noida Extension.

Relying on the Allahabad High Court verdict of Oct 21, 2011, the farmers were seeking restoration of their land acquired by the Noida authority.

The Allahabad High Court, while quashing the acquisition of land in the villages, instead of restoring their ownership, had ordered 64.7 percent enhancement in compensation and the farmers getting 10 percent of their acquired land after its development.

Having questioned the farmers' plea, the apex court sought specific details of who had accepted the compensation and the time when they had challenged the validity of the acquisition of their lands by the Noida authority.

Even as a team of lawyers appearing for the farmers sought restoration of their acquired land, the bench said courts could not modify a development scheme to carve out a part of acquired land to be returned to the farmers after it has been developed.

The court said this when counsel Rakesh Sharma, appearing for some farmers, urged the court that their land, that were acquired under the emergency provision, be returned to them.

Earlier, arguing for some of the famers, counsel Amarendra Sharan told the court that they had never sought enhanced compensation nor was there any award for acquiring the land.

Stating that the order of status quo was in the favour of the farmers of Patwari, Sharan said the Noida authority was not following the law nor the orders of the court.

The farmers had challenged the Allahabad High Court direction.

The high court had taken a serious view of the fact that the lands that were acquired for planned industrial development were passed on to private builders for construction of residential complexes.

The high court had also taken note that these lands were acquired by invoking emergency clause of the land acquisition statute.

Nearly 100 real estate projects by various developers are coming up on the acquired lands and nearly 1.5 lakh people have registered flats in these projects.