The Punjab and Haryana high court (HC) has put a stay on Haryana government's notification of December 31, 2013, for acquisition of over 250 acres in seven villages of Gurgaon for developing sector-dividing roads in Sectors 63, 64 and 67.
The directions came from a division bench comprising justices Surya Kant and Amol Rattan Singh while taking up a petition filed by eight villagers of Naurangpur, including Vishal Yadav. By issuing the notification under challenge, the Haryana government had acquired land under Section 4 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894. The villages include Naurangpur, Ullawas, Kadarpur, Medawas, Behrampur, Badshahpur and Dhumaspur.
The petitioners informed the court that the state government had made a "colourable" exercise with malafide intention by issuing the land acquisition notification just a day in advance on December 31, 2013, so that the landowners could not take benefit of the new land acquisition act that had come into force from January 1 this year. The new law had received the President's assent on September 27, 2013.
At the same time, Delhi builder Pawan Bhatia, who had earlier approached the high court, also challenged the same land acquisition notification. Through his petition, Bhatia informed the court that though he had earlier given an undertaking in court to protect his interest till pendency of the case, the department of town and country planning had issued the notification for land acquisition, which also included the petitioner's land measuring six kanals in Ullahawas village.
{{/usCountry}}At the same time, Delhi builder Pawan Bhatia, who had earlier approached the high court, also challenged the same land acquisition notification. Through his petition, Bhatia informed the court that though he had earlier given an undertaking in court to protect his interest till pendency of the case, the department of town and country planning had issued the notification for land acquisition, which also included the petitioner's land measuring six kanals in Ullahawas village.
{{/usCountry}}Bhatia and his family members had informed the court that they had applied for grant of licence for development of a group-housing colony on 13.61 acres in Ullawas village, Sector 6O, for which they fulfilled all the norms. They had alleged that applications submitted by the four other builders had same deficiencies as his, but their applications had been kept alive so as to issue licences to them. The case will be heard on March 26, when the state government is expected to clear its stand.