THE HON’BLE SRI JUSTICE V. ESWARAIAH AND THE HON’BLE SRI JUSTICE K.S. APPA RAO A.S. No. 1951 of 1998 O R D E R: (per Hon’ble Sri Justice K.S. Appa Rao) Aggrieved by the judgment and decree dated 29.01.1998 in O.P.No. 44 of 1993 on the file of the Senior Civil Judge at Karimnagar, the present Appeal is filed. The appellant herein is the respondent in the aforesaid O.P. An extent of Acs. 35.32 guntas of land in Gopalpur-Durshed Village, Karimnagar Mandal was acquired and the Land Acquisition Officer fixed the market value at the rate of Rs.8,000/- per acre for dry lands by Award dated 05.10.1998. Dissatisfied with the said amount, the claimants requested the Land Acquisition Officer to refer the matter to the civil Court. Accordingly, a reference was made under Section 18 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894. The reference Court while placing reliance upon the oral as well as the documentary evidence, filed by the claimants, enhanced the compensation from Rs.8,000/- to Rs.20,000/- per acre. Aggrieved by the said enhancement, the Special Deputy Collector filed the present Appeal mainly contending that the compensation fixed by the reference Court is excessive and exorbitant. Heard the learned Government Pleader for Appeals and the learned counsel for the respondents-claimants. Now the point that arises for consideration is whether the enhancement of the compensation by the reference Court is sustainable or not. Before the trial Court, on behalf of the claimants, P.Ws. 1 to 4 were examined and Exs.A1 to A12 were marked. On behalf of the referring officer, R.W.1 was examined and Ex.B1 was marked. Admittedly, the land in question is situate at a distance of 5 K.Ms. to Karimnagar Town. A combined reading of the evidence of P.Ws. 1 to 4 shows that the acquired land is surrendered by industries, like rice mill, paper mill, chemical industry, etc. and the claimants are raising vegetables and paddy in the land and getting Rs.50,000/- per annum. Ex.A1 is the certified copy of the order and decree in O.P.No. 13 of 1989, wherein the reference Court enhanced the compensation to Rs.20,000/- per acre, for the lands in Chegurthi Village and the said enhancement was confirmed by this Court. Ex.A2 is the certified copy of the order and decree in O.P.No. 619 of 1984 wherein also the reference Court enhanced the compensation to Rs.20,000/- per acre. The appellant Land Acquisition Officer did not adduce any evidence to rebut the evidence of P.Ws.1 to 4 and the documentary evidence. Therefore, the evidence of P.Ws. 1 to 4 remained unrebutted and the documentary evidence Exs.A1 to A12 remained unchallenged. In that view of the matter, the evidence of P.Ws. 1 to 4 coupled with the documentary evidence, prove that the land in question is a potential one and yielding income and there is escalation of market value of the land day by day. In the aforesaid circumstances, viewed from any angle, the reference Court is right in enhancing the compensation from Rs.8,000/- to Rs.20,000/- per acre. We do not find any illegality or infirmity in the order under appeal. The Appeal is therefore, dismissed. No costs. It is needless to mention that the claimants are entitled to all statutory benefits as directed by the reference Court. ---------------------- (V. ESWARAIAH,J) ---------------------------- (K.S. APPA RAO, J) 28th November 2011 ksld