R.F.A. No. 894 of 1989 [ 1] IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH R.F.A. No. 894 of 1989 (O&M) Date of decision: 16.3.2011 Punjab State and others .. Appellants v. Madan Lal .. Respondent CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE RAJESH BINDAL Present: Mr. Yatinder Sharma, Deputy Advocate General, Punjab. ... Rajesh Bindal J. This order will dispose of R.F.A. Nos. 894 to 898 of 1989, as common questions of law and facts are involved. The State is in appeal seeking reduction in the amount of compensation awarded to the land owners for the acquired land. The facts have been extracted from R.F.A. No. 894 of 1989. Briefly, the facts of the case are that vide notification dated 1.7.1985, issued under Section 4 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 (for short, `the Act'), State of Punjab sought to acquire 278 acres of land in the revenue estate of village Thara Uperla Teeka Ladhwal H. B. No. 399/2, Tehsil Pathankot, District Gurdaspur for reservoir area of Thein Dam Project. The same was followed by notification dated 24.9.1985 issued under Section 6 of the Act. The Land Acquisition Collector (for short, `the Collector'), vide award dated 31.3.1986, assessed the market value of the acquired land @ ` 6,000/- per acre for Barani-I land; ` 5,000/- per acre for Barani-II land; ` 3,500/- per acre for Banjar Qadim land and ` 3,000/- per acre for Gair Mumkin kind of land. Dissatisfied with the award of the R.F.A. No. 894 of 1989 [ 2] Collector, the land owners filed objections. On reference under Section 18 of the Act, the learned court below assessed the market value of the acquired land @ ` 9,000/- per acre. It is this award, which is impugned by by the State before this court. The acquisition in the present case was carried out on 1.7.1985 for the purpose of reservoir area of Thein Dam Project. The Collector had assessed the compensation for different qualities of land at ` 3,000/- to ` 6,000/- per acre, which has been enhanced by the learned court below to ` 9,000/- per acre. Considering the fact that 25 years have elapsed and the amount of compensation awarded by the learned court below is not substantial, I do not find any reason to interfere with the impugned award at this stage. Accordingly, the appeals are dismissed. ( Rajesh Bindal ) Judge 16.3.2011 mk