In Brief
The Lucknow Development Authority acquired 168.59 hectares of land in 1981 under the Land Acquisition Act for the Sitapur Road City Extension Scheme. When respondent's land was restored in 2011, the Authority demanded development charges. The High Court quashed this demand, holding development charges could not be imposed without demonstrating actual development on the specific land. The Supreme Court reversed this, holding that development must be assessed for the entire acquired area, not individual plots. Since 97.1% of the area was developed with infrastructure, the respondent's unplotted portion still benefited from the scheme. However, the Court set aside the quantified charge and allowed the Authority to recalculate, provided the respondents are given a fair hearing."
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