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Land acquisition for public good is valid: court

Legal Correspondent

New Delhi: Land acquisition by a State government for development of a project to serve the larger public good will be legal and valid, the Supreme Court has held.

“In case of an integrated and indivisible project, the project has to be taken as a whole and must be judged whether it is in the larger public interest. It cannot be split into different components to consider whether each and every component will serve public good. A holistic approach has to be adopted in such matters,” said a Bench consisting of Justices C.K. Thakker and D.K. Jain.

Writing the judgment, Mr. Justice Thakker said: “If the project taken as a whole is an attempt in the direction of bringing foreign exchange, generating employment opportunities and securing economic benefits to the State and the public at large, it will serve a public purpose.”

Infrastructure project

In the instant case, the Andhra Pradesh government acquired land in Hyderabad suburbs in 2002 for an infrastructure development project to be implemented through a joint venture mechanism. The Andhra Pradesh High Court dismissed petitions from landowners challenging the acquisition.

Dismissing the appeals against this judgment, the Supreme Court said: “It cannot be said that the proceedings initiated by the State for acquisition of land are illegal, unlawful, unwarranted, mala fide, fraud on the statute or have been taken in a colourable exercise of power.”

The Bench said the State decided to establish an integrated project which would make Hyderabad a major business-cum-leisure tourism infrastructure centre. The project would facilitate the socio-economic progress by generating revenues and weeding out unemployment.

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