Acquisitions over 10 yrs to be made public

The details should contain names of the villages,the khatas on which plots have been allotted and constructions are on,number of cases pending against such acquisitions (mentioning the village and plots),and number of cases decided by the court.

The division bench of Justices Sunil Ambwani and S S Tiwari said: “Lot of confusion seems to have been caused in the area where the lands of farmers were acquired by the GNIDA and given to private builders for construction of multi-storey housing complexes. Most of the builders… are not even aware of the khata number and the villages on which plots have been allotted to them and that the persons who have booked flats in these complexes are not getting proper information.”

Coming down heavily on the officers of GNIDA,the court observed that they were fully aware of the interim orders to maintain status quo on the land acquired by them in Patwari. But they allowed construction activity by private developers,the court noted. It also took into consideration that the builders,despite orders for status quo,never approached the court for vacation of the status quo or applied for becoming a party to the case.

“It is difficult to believe that builders were not aware that the acquisition at Patwari was under challenge,” the court said. The court also refused to hear counsel for the builders who had not applied for their impleadment as a party in the hearings. Only one counsel,of M/S Supertech,was heard.

The court directed GNIDA to return the land to the original tenure holders.