Sitting amid the blackened remains of his home, 32-year-old Nikesh Gawali carefully broke open a half-melted plastic box with a screwdriver. His hands shook slightly, not out of fear, but out of hope. “I’m trying to find my daughter Aarti’s gold earrings,” he said quietly, still focused on the box. “She’s just five. I got them made recently after months of labour work.” The plastic box, warped and blackened by heat, was one of the few things left from his two-room house on the outskirts of Dhamangaon village . All around him lay ash, broken tin sheets and charred wooden beams. The walls had cracked under the heat and the front room’s tin roof had caved in completely. What remained was a blackened debris all around - almost nothing to suggest a home once stood there. Nikesh earns his living as an agricultural labourer, like many in the village. Work is uncertain and depends on the season. Those earrings weren’t just jewellery - they were a small dream, a reward for his hard work,...
These many cases are before Fast Track Court, which has started functioning recently in new administrative building
By Dheeraj Fartode
Problem and project have become two sides of a coin. And, this stands true in case of Multimodal International Hub and Airport at Nagpur (MIHAN) also. On one hand, desired investment has not come to land acquired and allotted so far under the ambitious project. On the other, legal disputes continue to delay sorting out of land acquisition issues.
As on date, a total of 1,816 disputes are pending before Fast Track Court that has been set up recently. These disputes have created a situation wherein the administration may not keep the deadline set by Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan for sorting out all issues related to MIHAN. These disputes are categorised under three different provisions of Land Acquisition Act -- Section 18, Section 30, and Section 31. These pertain to objection to measurement of land or amount of compensation, dispute related to apportionment, and payment of compensation or deposit of the same in the court by the District Collector. The complications relate to legal heirs of land owners and dispute over land title.
To ensure speedier disposal of these disputes and pave way for completion of all processes related to land acquisition for MIHAN project, the Government had announced to set up Fast Track Court. However, it started functioning only in November 2013, after a delay of over three years. As on date, a total of 1,816 cases are before the Fast Track Court, which is functioning in new administrative building near Zilla Parishad.
Of these disputes, 935 have been filed under Section 18 of Land Acquisition Act, 364 under Section 30, and 517 under Section 31. Among the project-affected persons (PAPs), who have filed cases under Section 18, a total of 251 are from village Shivangaon followed by 172 from Kalkuhi and Khapri each, and 121 from Dahegaon. Of the 364 PAPs who have moved the court under Section 30, as many as 202 are from Shivangaon, 68 from Chinchbhuvan, 51 from Khapri, 13 from Isasani, six from Parsodi, and four from Telhara.
The district administration has referred to the court 517 matters under Section 31. Of these, 113 are related to PAPs from Chinchbhuvan, 92 to those from Isasani, 77 related to Shivangaon, and 16 to those from Kalkuhi.
Deputy Collector (Land Acquisition) Sachin Dhole told ‘The Hitavada’ that the district administration was making PAPs aware that Fast Track Court had started functioning and that their matters will be sorted out soon.
Some time ago, District Collector Saurabh Rao had told this newspaper that Fast Track Court for MIHAN-related cases would clear way for completion of land acquisition related procedures. Then, he had hoped that the procedure would be completed procedure by June 2014. It remains to be seen whether the deadline is met.
As per the records with the district administration, of a total 2,962.31 hectares of land to be acquired for MIHAN project, 89.53 hectares is yet to be handed over to MADC. Till date, the district administration has handed over 2,872.78 hectares to MADC.
The cases before Fast Track Court
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Village Cases filed under
Sec 18 Sec 31 Sec 30
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Isasani 09 93 13
Telhara 118 07 06
Shivangaon 251 77 202
Parsodi 08 01 06
Jamtha 00 02 00
Chinchbhuvan 57 113 68
Dahegaon 121 03 06
Kalkuhi 172 16 12
Khapri 172 204 51
Sumthana 27 01 00
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Total 935 517 364
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Land Acquisition Act and ‘the’ sections
- Section 18 -- Reference to Court: Any person interested who has not accepted the award may, by written application to the Collector, require that the matter be referred by the Collector for the determination of the Court, whether his objection be to the measurement of the land, the amount of the compensation, the person to whom it is payable, or the apportionment of the compensation among the persons interested.
- Section 30 -- Dispute as to apportionment: When the amount of compensation has been settled under section 11, if any dispute arises as to the apportionment of the same or any part thereof, or as to the persons to whom the same or any part thereof is payable, the Collector may refer such dispute to the decision of the Court.
- Section 31 -- Payment of compensation or deposit of the same in Court: If they shall not consent to receive it, or if there be no person competent to alienate the land, or if there be any dispute as to the title to receive the compensation or as to the apportionment of it, the Collector shall deposit the amount of the compensation in the Court.
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