In Brief
The Lucknow Development Authority acquired 168.592 hectares in 1981 under the Land Acquisition Act for a residential development scheme. When respondents sought land restoration in 2011, the Authority levied development charges totalling Rs.1,57,22,056. The High Court quashed the demand, holding no development work had benefited the respondents' plot. The Supreme Court held that development must be assessed scheme-wide: 97.1% of acquired land had been developed with roads, electricity, water and sewer infrastructure. The respondents' land, though unplotted due to existing encroachments, still benefited from the overall scheme development. The Court allowed the appeal but quashed the quantified demand, requiring fresh calculation with proper hearing.
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