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LUDHIANA LAND ACQUISITION
SC hikes compensation to farmers by 25% after 40 yrs
Legal Correspondent

New Delhi, November 12
The Supreme Court has increased the compensation amount for the land acquired by the Ludhiana Improvement Trust (LIT) in 1972 by 25%.

A Bench of Justices GS Singhvi and SJ Mukhopadhaya hiked the compensation paid to the farmers from Rs 39 per square yard to Rs 49 a sq yd. The Land Acquisition Collector had fixed the market value at Rs 15 per sq yd for Block A category and Rs 10 for Block B. The Land Acquisition Tribunal, Ludhiana, raised these amounts to Rs 39 and Rs 31, respectively. The Punjab and Haryana High Court dismissed the petitions filed by the affected farmers, but ruled that the landowners were entitled to compensation at a flat of rate of Rs 39 a sq yard by removing the categorisation.

Accepting the contentions of the landowners, the SC said a land in the area had been sold for Rs 39 a sq yd in 1970 and as such LIT should have calculated the compensation amount by raising the value at the rate of 12% a year. On this basis, the compensation worked out to Rs 48.36 per sq yd “which deserves to be rounded off to Rs 49,” the apex court held.

The Trust has been asked to pay the enhanced amount of compensation with other statutory benefits, including solatium and interest, in four months.