Residents challenge the illegal digging of land
Sazia Parween & others Vs. State of Jharkhand & others | The High Court of Jharkhand at Ranchi | Status: Pending | |
The residents are citizen of India and are respectable persons of the society. All the residents are legal owner of land of Mouja Ranagamati Jamabandi No. 82 of Sahebganj District. They are dependent on their land for livelihood. Department of Land Acquistion, Sahibganj issued notification Serial No. 126/2018-19 dated 24/01/2019 under JHARKHAND WATER, GAS AND DRAINAGE PIPELINES (ACQUISITION OF RIGHT OF USER IN LAND) ORDINANCE’ 2018). The adani power plant which is being constructed in godda for which they need to construct pipelines from the Ganga river in the Sahibganj district, for which land has been acquired by them in Rangamati, police station number 30, total 1.307 acer of land, which comes under the settlement number 83. Department of Land Acquistion, Sahibganj issued notification Serial No. 126/2018-19 dated 24/01/2019 under JHARKHAND WATER, GAS AND DRAINAGE PIPELINES (ACQUISITION OF RIGHT OF USER IN LAND) ORDINANCE’ 2018) for acquiring plot No. 59,22,56,83, 24 and 18. The authorities have started construction in plot No. 82 of the residents. Residents are the owner of the land and without any notice they have dig the land. The construction in settlement no. 82 instead of 83 is violation of the natural justice of the petitioners as the construction has been started without the consent of the residents. The construction on the land without following the due process of the law and providing compensation is illegal and show the intention of Adani power plant and the authorities to illegal construction on the land of the residents.
Under Rule 3 of Jharkhand Water, Gas and Drainage Pipelines (Acquisition of Right of User in Land) Rules, 2018 the Competent authority under the Act :- For the acquisition of right of user in private land to lay the Water, Gas or Drainage Pipelines under the Ordinance any officer, not below the rank of Deputy Collector, who has been notified as the competent authority for the specified area under "The Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act 2013" by State Government, shall be the competent authority for this purpose. As per Article 21 of the Constitution of India “Protection of Life and Personal property – No person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to procedure established by law.” In this case, the right to livelihood of petitioners is in danger. And aforesaid land is a multi crop irrigated land upon which the livelihood of people is dependent. The right to livelihood is violated, which is a part of Article 21 of the Indian Constitution. The construction on the aforesaid land have been started illegally and which is a violation of article 300A of the Indian Constitution, the right to enjoyment of personal property. Article 300A reads as “Persons not to be deprived of property save by authority of law.- No person shall be deprived of his property save by authority of law.”
Land of the residents have been taken away without their consent which is the violation of the due process of law for land acquisition i.e. LARR Act as well as JHARKHAND WATER, GAS AND DRAINAGE PIPELINES (ACQUISITION OF RIGHT OF USER IN LAND) ORDINANCE’ 2018). Therefore, residents have sent representation to Deputy Collector4, Sahibganj, Land Reforms Sahibganj, SDO, Sahibganj and Circle Officer and Khas Mahal Officer, Sahibganj dated 4/12/2019. And the residents have not been given any benefit or protection under the LARR Act and their Constitutional rights have been violated. Thus, the residents have moved before the Hon’ble High Court of Jharkhand by way of the Public Interest Litigation for taking the appropriate action against the illegal construction started by the adani power plant ie. Digging the land on the premise of the residents for water pipeline.