PROPERTY TAX IN PUNJAB

LAND ACQUISITION ACT 1894

LAND ACQUISITION ACT 1894

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INTRODUCTORY

The Land Acquisition Act, 1894 is an Act to amend the law for the acquisition of land for public purposes and for companies, and to determine the amount of compensation to be paid on account of such acquisition. Thus, the Act confers the right on the appropriate government to acquire land and as a corollary, the right of the owner or the interested person of the land to have a judicial determination of the compensation due to him by the Land Acquisition Authority. Where the land is acquired under the Act, it would not be fair and just to deprive of the holder thereof the payment of the market value. There should be some public purposes in an acquisition and it is unfair, if such a purpose is incorporated in a statute, if the holder of the land is deprived of the market value of the land. The object of the Act of 1894 was stated in the statement of objects and reasons as under:

1. For several years past the amendment of the Land Acquisition Act, 1870, (the immediate predecessor) has been under consideration by the Government of India in communication with local governments.

2. Before the passing of the Act, the valuation of the lands, which it was found necessary to take up for execution of public works, was entirely in the hands of arbitrators, from whose decision there was no appeal. The system led to a lamen­table waste of the public money, both because the arbitrators were incompetent, and sometimes, it is to be feared, corrupt and also because the law, as it then stood, laid down no instructions for their guidance in the performance of their duties. This latter defect, among others, was remedied by the Act of 1870 which it is now . proposed to amend, and which contains detailed instructions as to the matters which are to be considered, and which are to be neglected, in awards of compensa­tion for lands acquired under its provisions. The Act of 1870 also provided for the abolition of the system under which uncontrolled discretion was entrusted to arbitrators; and, in lieu thereof, required the Collector, when unable to come to terms with the persons interested in land which it was desired-'to take up, to refer the difference for the decision of a civil court, usually that of the district judge. In the disposal of such references, the court is aided by assessors, and its finding is final if the judge and one or more of the assessors agree. If, however, the judge and the assessors disagree, an appeal is allowed, which usually lies to the High Court.

3. The Act of 1870 has not, in practice, been found entirely effective for the protection either of the persons interested in lands taken up for the public purpose. The requirement that the Collector shall refer for the decision of the court every petty difference of opinion as to the value, and every case in which any one, perhaps a large number of persons fails to attend before him, has involved in litigation, with all its trouble and delay and expense, a great number of persons whose interest in the land was extremely insignificant. It has, in fact, frequently been the case that the owners of small pieces of land have had to pay court costs of an amount far exceeding the value of the land itself.

4. On the other hand, the provisions of the Act as to the incidence of costs, the whole of which fall on the Collector if the final award is ever so little in excess of the amount of his tender, are such as to encourage extravagant and speculative claims. The chance of altogether escaping the payment of costs is so great, that claimants are in the position of risking very little in order to gain very much, and have, therefore, every motive to refuse even liberal offers made by the Collector, and to try their luck by compelling a reference to the court. Much the same may be said as to the provisions of the existing law regarding the payment of interest. No matter how fair the original offer of the Collector and how groundless the refusal to accept the compensation he has tendered, interest is payable on the amount of the award finally arrived at from the date of the Collector's taking possession of the land. This may be for a period of two or three years, and as interest continues to run until the litigation is finally completed, it is to the advantage of the land owner to protract the proceedings to the utmost. All this costs a very heavy and unde­served burden on the public purse.

5. It is proposed, therefore, to amend the law by making the Collector's award final, unless altered by the decree in a regular suit. Persons interested in land taken up for public works will thus still have the opportunity, if they desire it, of preferring to an authority quite independent of the Collector their claims to more substantial compensation than the Collector has awarded; and will in all cases have further right of appeal to the regular appellate courts. They will no longer, however, be encouraged, to litigate by the feeling they can hardly lose, but may make a great gain by doing so.

6. This change in the procedure for determining the valuation of lands taken up for public works will also render it possible to dispense with the services of the assessors, who are now supposed to assist the court. Considering the difficulty, almost throughout the country, of obtaining the services of such assessors as are really qualified to form a sound opinion on the subject of the valuation of land, it is believed that the proposal to dispense with them, and to leave the matter to the sole arbitrament, first of the Collector and then of the judge, will in no way diminish the efficiency of the court in enquiries in which the value of lands is in issue. It will certainly tend to shorten litigation and to diminish its expense. This comprehensive write-up comprising the Land Acquisition Act, 1894, Land Acquisition (Amendment and Validation) Act, 1967 and the Land Acquisition (Amendment) Act, 1984 is presented to have a handy but an exclusive coverage of the law of land acquisition and its bifurcations in India to the learned readers. A creative feedback from the learned readers, bringing to our notice any mistake, error or omission or discrepancy that might have crept in this book in spite of our sincere efforts to avoid those, is most welcome, for it will help us improve the overall quality, style and presentation of the book in the forthcoming editions.