CWP No. 11937 of 2001 [1] IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB & HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH CWP No. 11937 of 2001 Date of Decision: 28.08.2008 Surender Singh ..Petitioner versus State of Haryana and others ..Respondents CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE T.S.THAKUR,CHIEF JUSTICE HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE SURYA KANT Present : None for the petitioner Mr. B.S.Rana, Addl. A.G. Haryana for respondent No.1 Mr. P.K.Mutneja, Advocate for respondents No.2 and 3 ***** T.S.Thakur, Chief Justice (Oral) This petition purports to have been filed in public interest. The petitioner prays for a mandamus directing the respondents to provide proper civic amenities like regular water supply, proper sewerage, medical and veterinary facilities and cremation ground etc., for the benefit of expropriated owners of the land situated in and around of village Baholi, Tehsil and District Panipat. The petitioner also prays for a direction to the respondents to provide employment to at least one member of each displaced family apart from any other direction deemed fit and appropriate. The controversy arises in the following circumstances. A large extent of land situated in village Baholi, Tehsil & District Panipat in the State of Haryana was notified for acquisition under the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 way back in the year 1983-84. The acquisition was made for the public purpose for setting up of a Refinery by the respondent-Indian Oil Corporation who happens to be a fully government owned corporation. The compensation determined by the Collector of the area for the land including superstructure, if any, acquired CWP No. 11937 of 2001 [2] from the owners, was determined and paid to the land owners. Since, however, a sizeable number of residents of village Baholi had got displaced on account of the acquisition proceedings, the government including the respondent-corporation undertook an exercise of rehabilitating the oustees purely on humanitarian grounds. In that connection, the authorities acquired an area measuring 40.63 acres in the adjacent to village Sithana. The said area was then used by the authorities to rehabilitate the oustees of village Baholi in what was named new Baholi. The case of the respondent-corporation is that as many as 352 families of village Baholi affected by the acquisition proceedings were settled in village New Baholi. The expropriated owners of land from village Sithana whose lands were acquired for rehabilitation purposes, were also compensated by the respondents. The rehabilitation process included provision of electrification, earth filling and construction of Panchayat Ghar, Primary School building, Mahila Mandal and Veterinary Hospital etc. Expenses were also incurred by the respondent-corporation by way of financial assistance to the oustees to enable them to built houses at village New Baholi. The respondent-corporation has on affidavit stated that a sum of Rs. 5.45 Crore was thus spent on the rehabilitation programme undertaken purely as a humanitarian measure to rehabilitate those who had been uprooted on account of setting up of the Refinery. They have further stated that facilities like roads, water supply, electrification, Primary School building, apart from Mahila Mandal and Veterinary Hospital earlier mentioned have also been provided to new village Baholi. Sewerage system and drinking water pumps were also made available to the residents. All this expenditure was, according to the respondent-corporation, incurred CWP No. 11937 of 2001 [3] through State Government agencies. In addition to the above, as many as 131 persons, who were living in Deras around village Baholi, had also been rehabilitated in village New Baholi. The affidavit goes on to state that the process of shifting of village Baholi to the new site was undertaken on a report of Engineers India Ltd., who had carried out a survey before setting up of Panipat Refinery Project for Indian Oil Corporation. The allegations made in the writ petition that the newly established village does not have the requisite civic amenities like roads, clean drinking water and other such facilities, have been denied by the respondent-corporation. The respondent-corporation has also disputed the allegations made in the petition that effluents or emissions from the refinery cause any environmental pollution. They have, according to the version placed on affidavit, taken steps at all times to ensure that air pollution level is far below than the para-meters fixed. These gaseous emissions are, according to the respondents, being utilised for various processes. Sulphur Dioxide is neutralised by means of chemicals which react with the Sulphur Dioxide to be subsequently sold by the respondent corporation in the open market. The residue gases go through the filters which absorb the harmful gases. The corporation has also arranged to set up huge Chimneys higher than Qutab Minar in Delhi, to ensure that there is no environmental pollution on account of the working of the refinery. No one has appeared on behalf of the petitioner today. We have, therefore, heard Shri B.S.Rana, learned Addl. Advocate General for the respondent-State of Haryana and Shri P.K.Mutneja, learned counsel appearing for respondents No.2 and 3. CWP No. 11937 of 2001 [4] It was contended by Mr. Mutneja, in our opinion rightly so that the rehabilitation of the oustees from village Baholi was not a legal obligation for the corporation. The expropriated owners from the said village having been fully compensated in terms of payment to them of the market value of the land and other properties acquired from their ownership, there was no compulsion for the corporation to undertake any further rehabilitation measures. All the same and keeping in view the fact that the villagers were being dislocated from their traditional habitats, the corporation had undertaken an exercise at considerable expenses for not only providing alternative sites for construction of houses at village New Baholi, but also providing civic amenities like roads, sewerage system, drinking water, schools and Dispensaries etc. These measures were all independent of legally enforceable obligations and clearly established the bonafides of the respondent corporation. The fact that government was associated with the process of rehabilitation and the entire amount of Rs. 5.54 crore was spent through the State Government Agencies to ensure that there was a complete transparency in the exercise undertaken by the corporation, is also significant. It was contended by Mr. Mutneja, and rightly so that while there may still be shortcomings in terms of providing adequate facilities which is a continuing process, the petitioners could and indeed ought to represent to the State authorities or District Administration for removing the deficiencies, if any. In the circumstances, therefore, and keeping in view the fact that most of the requirements in relation to rehabilitation programme undertaken by the corporation, have been achieved with the help of State authorities, we see no compelling reason for us to issue any further CWP No. 11937 of 2001 [5] direction. All that we need say is that if the process of rehabilitation is for any reason, considered to be deficient in any respect, either in terms of facilities or civic amenities or other facilities like water, school, dispensary and other items of common use of utility, the proper course for the petitioner as also the inhabitants of new village Bohali, would be to approach the District Administration or Government for appropriate redressal. We hope and trust that if such a representation is made by the villagers themselves or on their behalf by any agency acting bonafidely, the same shall be examined at an appropriate level and all such steps as are considerable reasonable looking to the economic conditions of the State, taken for the benefit of those residing in the newly established village. With these observations and directions, this writ petition is disposed of leaving the parties to bear their own costs. (T.S.THAKUR) CHIEF JUSTICE (SURYA KANT) 28.08.2008 JUDGE 'ravinder'