In Brief
GAIL India Ltd. sought to lay a gas pipeline across agricultural lands in Tamil Nadu under the Petroleum and Minerals Pipelines Act, 1962. The State Government ordered GAIL to lay the pipeline along National Highways instead, avoiding agricultural lands. The Supreme Court held the State lacked authority to alter pipeline alignment once land rights were validly acquired. However, to ease farmers' hardship, the Court permitted the State to fix updated market values as of 1st January 2016 for compensation purposes. GAIL conceded to pay an additional 30% over statutory compensation. The appeals were disposed of, preserving land owners' rights to seek higher compensation through civil courts."
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