Madhya Pradesh: HC Desists Government From Acquiring Land For Dam Construction | Representative Image
Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): High Court, principal bench of Jabalpur has directed the government that notification cannot be issued without complying with Section 41 of Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act 2013.
Madhya Pradesh government has decided to construct a dam in Singrauli district by giving administrative approval to Gond Major Irrigation Project in 34,500 hectares, which includes 28k hectares for Rabi and 6,500 hectares for Kharif capacity, at a cost of Rs 1097.67 crore.
The petition challenging legality of the said decision of the government was filed in the High Court. A division bench of Chief Justice Suresh Kumar Kait and Justice Vivek Jain passed the order.
The court was told on behalf of petitioner Lolar Singh that Section 41 of Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act 2013 and the Supreme Court in the case of Odisha Mining Corporation vs Ministry of Environment and Forests have outlined the guiding principles for land acquisition in notified tribal areas.
Senior advocates Rameshwar Singh Thakur and Gudda Singh Udde who appeared on behalf of the petitioner said, ‘The said dam has been approved in Kushmi district of Sidhi and Singrauli. The Bhuimaan reservoir is already built at a distance of one kilometre from the approved dam. Due to the newly-approved dam, tribal families were being evicted and their lands were being acquired, while before administrative nod, approval of the concerned Gram Sabha was not taken under Provisions of Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996 (PESA Act), neither was Section 41 of Land Acquisition Act 2013 complied with.’
