In Brief
The Supreme Court partly allowed civil appeals by landowners whose agricultural land in Veerapur village was acquired for the Hirehalla Project rehabilitation scheme in 2003. The Land Acquisition Officer had awarded Rs. 24,500 per acre, which the High Court raised to Rs. 1,56,000. The Court condoned substantial delays in filing petitions, applying a liberal approach appropriate to land acquisition cases involving poor villagers. Recognizing that the acquired land had development potential for conversion into building sites due to its non-agricultural use, the Court enhanced compensation to Rs. 2,35,795 per acre (10% annual escalation from 1994 base), but denied interest for the delay period.
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