IN THE HIGH COURT OF UTTARAKHAND AT NAINITAL WRIT PETITION NO. 183 OF 2009 (MS) Power Grid Corporation of India Limited. ........Petitioner. Versus State of Uttarakhand and others. ..........Respondents. Mr. S.B. Upadhyay & Mr. M.C. Pande, Advocates for petitioner. Mr. K.P. Upadhyay, Addl. Chief Standing Counsel for State of Uttarakhand / respondent no. 1 to 3. Mr. Gurbachan Singh-respondent no. 4 in person. 15th June, 2009 Hon’ble Sudhanshu Dhulia, J. This matter is being finally disposed of with the following order: The Special Land Acquisition Officer, Nainital / respondent no. 3 is directed to proceed with Section 11 of Special Land Acquisition Act after hearing all the parties. The Special Land Acquisition Officer shall also hear the objection of the land-owner Mr. Gurbachan Singh. A proposal has also come from the petitioner, wherein instead of compensation an alternate land is being offered to the land-owner Gurbachan Singh. The objection, if any, of Sri Gurbachan Singh on this may also be taken on record and the Special Land Acquisition Officer will consider the offer of the petitioner. It is directed that the Special Land Acquisition Officer shall decide the matter within a period of one month from the date of service of the certified copy of this order. The order dated 29th January, 2009 also needs to be set aside inasmuch by the said order 80 percent of the estimated compensation has to be deposited by the petitioner before taking possession of the land as per Section 17 of the Land Acquisition Act. However, since the petitioner is already in possession of the land in question, no useful purpose would be solved in insisting on the petitioner, which is a public sector corporation, to deposit the said 80 percent amount under Section 17 (3) of the Land Acquisition Act. However, merely because this Court is setting aside the order dated 29th January, 2009 will not be construed as any comment on the merit or demerit of the estimated compensation or the quantum of such a compensation which the Special land Acquisition Officer has ordered vide order dated 29th January, 2009. All the contentions, which the petitioner have raised before this Court, including his offer of the alternate land of the land-owner and the objection of the land-owner will be considered by the Special Land Acquisition Officer while disposing of the representation of the petitioner as well as the land-owner. This will be done by the Special Land Acquisition Officer as expeditiously as possible and preferably within one month from the date the certified copy of this order is given to him. With the aforesaid direction, writ petition is disposed of. No order as to costs. (Sudhanshu Dhulia, J.) 15.6.2009 Rathour