The Supreme Court today upheld the Uttar Pradesh government’s land acquisition for the Taj expressway linking Delhi with Agra, dismissing farmers’ contention that the land had been acquired for a “company” and not for a “public purpose”.
The top court agreed with Allahabad High Court’s view that even if a private company — Jaypee Infratech Ltd — had paid all land acquisition costs, the acquisition would be considered for a public purpose as it involved construction of an expressway, which would benefit many.
The bench, comprising Justices V.S. Sirpurkar and Cyriac Joseph, said the company was not getting any “proprietary or ownership rights” over project assets as it would have done if the acquisition had been done for itself.
“The assets are to revert back to the… government. Even land utilised for construction of the expressway are to go back to the government after 36 years i.e. after the company has utilised its rights to recover toll,” it said.
In addition, the company was paying a lease rent of Rs 100 per hectare to the state for the 25 million square meters being acquired, the court noted.
“…there is no evidence to suggest that this is an acquisition for the company…. This was clearly a project conceived and justified by the state, while the (company) was chosen only to implement it….”
Since the project will be implemented on the build-operate-transfer principle, the assets will be transferred to the state after the operating period is over. “There was going to be no vesting of land…” the court said.
“The expressway is a work of immense public importance. The state gains advantages… and so does the public. Creation of a corridor for fast moving traffic resulting in curtailing travelling time, as also transport of goods, would be some factors which speak in favour of the project being for public purpose,” the court said.
“This is a typical example of the individual having to sacrifice his land for the public good. There can be no dispute that this road would add to the betterment of the citizens of the east Yamuna area and Uttar Pradesh,” the top court observed.
The 160km six-lane expressway, supposed to have come up for the Commonwealth Games, will revert to the state after 36 years. Five townships being built by Jaypee Infratech Ltd will also revert to the state after 90 years.
In 2009, the high court had dismissed the farmers’ pleas. Of some 12,282 land owners who had parted with their plots, about 11,397 had already received compensation. The dispute was over 21.03 hectares out of 1,604 hectares of land.
The high court took the view that the scales of justice must tilt towards the right to development of millions who will benefit from the road and the development of the area, as against the human rights of 35 people whose main complaint was that they were not heard. Uttar Pradesh had issued a notification on February 20, 2009, to acquire this land.