Compensation for Barakhamba Metro station land owner hiked

Additional District Judge (ADJ) Nivedita Anil Sharma asked the Union Government to pay the compensation to Jetways Travels Pvt Ltd.

The Centre and the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) have been ordered by a court here to enhance by over Rs 1.26 crore the compensation given to a firm for acquiring its 541 square meter plot to build Barakhamba Road metro train station.

Additional District Judge (ADJ) Nivedita Anil Sharma asked the Union Government to pay the compensation to Jetways Travels Pvt Ltd,at an enhanced rate of Rs 81,429 per squaremeter,terming its earlier compensation at the rate of Rs 57,960 as “inadequate” and “unreasonable”.

“Reference (petition) is disposed of by holding that the compensation awarded to petitioner at the rate of Rs 57,960 per square meter by Land Acquisition Collector (LAC) was inadequate and unreasonable,” the court said. It said the petitioner company was required to be paid compensation at the rate of Rs 81,429 per square meter. “Petitioner is entitled to enhancement of compensation to the tune of Rs 23,469 per square meter along with 30 per cent solatium (compensation for loss and inconvenience),” it said.

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After enhancement,the travel company,situated at Barakhamba Road near Connaught Place,is entitled to get Rs 1,26,96,729 along with interest and solatium. The ADJ also directed that the order be sent to LAC for

information and also to deposit the balance amount immediately to avoid further burden upon the government exchequer.

The firm was having its plot measuring 541 square meter at Indraprakash Building at Barakhamba Road which was acquired by the government in 2003 to build the metro station for DMRC through a notification.

The petitioner firm said the LAC had assessed the compensation at Rs 57,960 per square meter on proportionate basis which was “too low,arbitrary,without any reasonable basis and the same is not acceptable to it”. While enhancing the compensation,the court referred to its another judgement in a similar case and in which the amount had been increased.

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The ADJ said the apex court has held that if compensation amount is already fixed for a land,then the same amount of compensation has to be given to other land owners whose similarly placed and situated,adjacent plots,are acquired under the same notification.

The Centre,DMRC and Land Development office,in their reply to the court,said the initial compensation awarded to the land owners was justified and reasonable.”The compensation has been awarded on the higher side as multi-national companies have shifted from Barakhamba Road,Connaught Place to the satellite towns of Gurgaon and Noida and market value of the property has diminished,” they said in their submissions in the court.