Land acquisition challenged in SC

NEW DELHI: Amid a raging controversy over the proposed establishment of SEZs, a petition has been moved in the Supreme Court challenging by various state governments’ decision to acquire farm lands at cheap rates for transfer to private companies. The allocation of lands by state governments, including to Mukesh Ambani-promoted Reliance Industries in Punjab and Anil Ambani-run Reliance Energy in UP, for developing SEZs, have been opposed by way of a PIL filed by an advocate Manohar Lal Sharma.

The PIL has sought quashing of the allotment of lands to Anil Ambani Group in Uttar Pradesh and Mukesh Ambani Group in Maharashtra and Haryana. The advocate has submitted that the Centre and state governments should be prohibited from allowing use of agricultural land for purposes other than crop cultivation.

The petition contended that acquisition of land for the business growth of private companies by the government was illegal. The PIL has mentioned the controversy of 2,500 acres of farm land allotted to Anil Ambani’s Reliance ADA Group at Dadri in Ghaziabad district for setting up of power project. The PIL claimed that allocation was arbitrarily done as the establishment of project required only 700 acres of land. It also challenged the allotment of 25,000 acres and 150 sq. km land to Mukesh Ambani-promoted RIL by Haryana government in Gurgaon.

and in the outskirts of Mumbai by Maharashtra government, respectively.The grant of 1,000 acres of farm land to Tata Group for its small car project at Singur in Hooghly district has been opposed in the PIL alleging that it was forcibly acquired from 3,000 farmers.