Kerala landowners to benefit from landmark Supreme Court verdict

Lands lying adjacent to national highways comparatively receive the highest prices. In Kerala, such lands have commercial value. Even setting up a small shop in these places can generate revenue. Therefore, no one usually sells such properties easily. They sell them in times of crisis, or when they require money, say to marry off their daughters to cite an example. The price and demand for such properties increase with each passing year. Therefore, when the government acquires land from private individuals for government purposes—be it for the national highway or other projects—it is essential to pay a higher compensation.

They will get ten times the amount the government pays for acquiring it later if they wait for some more years. Moreover, the National Highway Authority acquires the land for the development of the national highway. Since it is necessary for the development of the country, no one can refuse to give it away. However, they have every right and constitutional freedom to assert their right to demand a higher price for their land. The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has been known to levy tolls on new roads. That is, it cannot be ignored that the acquired land is being used to generate revenue for them. Even so, government agencies often resort to various tactics to reduce the price of the land they buy as much as possible. In a landmark order issued by the Supreme Court on this issue in the past few days, it has pointed out that landowners are entitled to higher compensation and interest.

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) had approached the Supreme Court seeking to limit the compensation benefit to owners of land acquired between 1997 and 2015 for national highway projects. The authority argued that the Supreme Court's 2019 verdict on compensation does not have retrospective effect. It also argued that it was sufficient to pay the base price in the years in which the land was acquired before that. However, a bench of Justices Suryakant and Ujjal Bhuyan observed that denying fair compensation would violate the right to equality of citizens. The authority argued that if the compensation and interest were paid retrospectively, the government would incur an additional financial liability of Rs 100 crore, but their demand was rejected, citing that the National Highways Authority had paid compensation higher than the base price before 1997 and after 2015.

The new verdict gives hope to the families who approached the court, claiming that the base price received earlier was low. About 100 families who gave up their land for the construction of the Mannuthi-Vadakkancherry National Highway 544, about 400 families in Pananchery and Peechi villages and within the corporation limits of Thrissur district, and about 300 families from Palakkad district are fighting a legal battle. The Supreme Court's order paves the way for all of them to get additional money. Government agencies, be it the National Highways Authority or the Employees Provident Fund Organisation, are always thinking about how much less they can give to the deserving ones. The beneficiaries have to go to court for a long time to get the amount they deserve. This trend must end.