THE Supreme Court on Monday reserved its verdict on a petition by the Shri Saryu Nagar Vikas Samiti challenging land acquisition for a residential housing scheme in Ayodhya. The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court, on August 6, had directed the Uttar Pradesh Awas Evam Vikas Parishad to determine compensation, rehabilitation and resettlement benefits in compulsory land acquisition proceedings under the Uttar Pradesh Awas Evam Vikas Parishad Adhiniyam, 1965. It had asked the authority to deal with the issues in accordance with the legal principles laid down in its judgment, including those contained in the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013.

 

A bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana, on Monday, reserved its verdict on the appeal of the Shri Saryu Nagar Vikas Samiti against the high court order after hearing submissions from senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, appearing for the petitioner, and Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, who represented the State Government and its department. Sankaranarayanan said the authorities could not limit the benefits available to affected landowners to monetary compensation, rehabilitation and resettlement, while disregarding other safeguards under the 2013 Act, including provisions relating to social impact assessment (SIA), the use of previously acquired land and the acquisition of multi-crop agricultural land.