Tenants of private land acquired for metro construction work eligible for compensation: Calcutta HC, ET RealEstate

KOLKATA: Tenants of private land acquired for Metro Railway construction work are eligible for compensation even if the owner has already been compensated, the Calcutta High Court held on Tuesday in a land acquisition case for the construction of the Mominpur (Ex) to Esplanade section of the Joka-BBD Bag Metro corridor.

The HC, however, refused to interfere in the land acquisition considering that the metro railway administration had no other alternative to execute the work which is for public purpose. The tenants of a premise adjacent to the Consulate General of Nepal office in the city approached the HC against the acquisition of the property by the authorities.

Justice Aniruddha Roy held: “The petitioners (tenants) are eligible to receive just and appropriate compensation payable strictly in accordance with the law.” It was observed that under Section 9 of the 1978 Act, stating “any person interested in the land” includes not only the owner of the land but also the existing tenants.

The metro authorities acquired a portion 105.3 square metres of the office of the Consulate of Nepal for track alignment work of the project. They published a notification in 2020, but the consulate objected to giving the land as it would compromise safety and security.

Following a negotiation with the foreign ministry, the consulate sought a portion of the adjacent land in exchange. This was agreed upon by the metro authorities, and a second acquisition of 532.6 square metres of the property was made in 2022.

Senior advocate Gopal Chandra Ghosh, representing the tenants, argued that the first acquisition was for public purpose at large, but the second acquisition was to balance out the property required from the consulate and not for public purpose.

Countering this argument, senior advocate Jayanta Kumar Mitra, representing the metro authorities, highlighted that the land acquisition is not only for the purpose of construction of any Metro Railway but also for “any other work connected therewith.”

Justice Roy noted: “If this property was not acquired and handed over to CGN in exchange and in lieu of the portion of their land required to be utilised for construction of the metro track, the metro project would not be implemented. As a result, greater public purpose would be defeated irreparably.”

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