Owners to get back their land acquired for Faridabad sector

Notification says land has not been utilised as per layout plan of respective sector by Haryana Shehri Vikas Pradhikaran, Panchkula

THE LANDOWNERS WILL HAVE TO REFUND THE COMPENSATION TO FARIDABAD LAND ACQUISITION OFFICER ALONG WITH INTEREST WITHIN 30 DAYS FROM DATE OF PUBLICATION OF THE DENOTIFICATION

CHANDIGARH : Twenty six years after it began acquiring 60-acre land in Sector 2 of Faridabad, the Haryana government has now decided to drop this exercise and return the land to its owners.

The Urban Estate Department of Haryana government on November 27, 2018 issued a notification in this connection and mentioned “thickly populated colonies with various constructions on the acquired land” as one of the key reasons behind dropping this exercise.

The state government on November 23, 1992 had issued a notification under section-4 of the Land Acquisition Act-1894 for acquiring land and to develop Sector-2 of Faridabad.

As per official records, the declaration under Secton-6 of the Act was made vide Haryana government gazette (extraordinary) on November 19, 1993. Later, the award of villages Uncha Gaon and Sihi was announced on November 18, 1995, completing the land acquisition process.

“...the land falling under these colonies has not been utilised as per layout plan of respective sector by Haryana Shehri Vikas Pradhikaran, Panchkula,” reads the notification, announcing the cancellation of the proceedings.

While 18-acre land was acquired in Uncha Gaon, 42-acre land was acquired in Sihi village that falls under Ballabgarh tehsil and in Sector 2 of Faridabad.

“Now, therefore, in exercise of powers conferred by section 101 A of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act-2013 read with the (Haryana Amendment) Act2017, the governor of Haryana, hereby de-notifies the land as specified...with immediate effect and thus the land would now re-vest in the name of the landowners,” reads the notification.

The government has said the landowners will have to refund the compensation to Faridabad land acquisition officer along with interest within 30 days from the date of publication of the de-notification.

Government sources say almost from the beginning, this land acquisition exercise was caught in legal tangle. A section of the landowners had moved the Punjab and Haryana high court challenging November 23, 1992 notification issued under Section 4 of the Land Acquisition Act and the declaration of November 19, 1993, under Section 6 of the Act.

The high court had quashed the notifications for acquiring certain properties of the petitioners who had moved the high court.