Supreme Court slams government on farm compensation

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Wednesday came down hard on the Centre for not paying compensation to farmers whose lands were compulsorily acquired for development projects and moving appellate courts to deny them even meagre amounts, while unhesitatingly spending huge money on state ceremonies such as the Republic Day parade. “You have enacted the new land acquisition law for payment of compensation to farmers, but you don’t pay farmers for years.

You spend Rs 100 crore for the Republic Day parade but when it comes to payment of compensation to poor farmers, say Rs 10 or Rs 20 crore, you file appeals,” CJI HL Dattu said.

The CJI, along with Justices AK Sikri and Arun Misra, made the observations during a hearing on aslew of petitions filed by the Defence Ministry, challenging compensation amounts directed to be paid by the Delhi High Court to farmers for their lands acquired in Delhi’s cantonment areas. “You say you have a national litigation policy to reduce pending cases (by avoiding filing frivolous cases).

But there are instances when even after the Armed Forces Tribunal directed you to pay pension benefits to retired personnel you did not pay… We had to dismiss appeals filed by you against 900 pensioners. This is the way you keep on filing appeals,” Justice Dattu observed. CJI Dattu did not stop there.

He went on to slam the Centre for creating tribunals by the dozen such as the Debt Recovery Tribunal, the National Green Tribunal, and not creating enough manpower, infrastructure and staff to man them. “No accommodation is given to tribunal members. There is no infrastructure for tribunals to function. You give accommodation (to tribunal heads) in the Commonwealth Games village (in the water-logged Yamuna river-bed).”