In a relief to many whose lands are being acquired through the Karnataka Industrial Areas Development (KIAD) Board, the High Court on Wednesday held that the State government can no longer exercise power under the KIAD Act, 1966 without conforming to the prerequisites as prescribed under the Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (LARR) Act, 2013.
“The scheme under the KIAD Act is inconsistent with the provisions of the LARR Act in terms of Article 254 (2) of the Constitution, and hence [it] is no longer valid as an independent enactment,” the court held.
Justice Anand Byrareddy delivered the verdict while dealing with a batch of petitions by several landowners over the continuation of acquisition proceedings under the KIAD Act and the erstwhile Land Acquisition (LA) Act, 1894 even after the LARR Act came into force on January 1, 2014.
The court verdict will enable the landowners, whose lands are under various stages of acquisition, to seek higher compensation and resettlement as per the new law.
The court also said Section 3(1) and Section 28 of the KIAD Act, which empower the State to declare any plot as an industrial area and acquire land for this purpose, are repugnant to the provisions of the LARR Act. “The State government cannot any longer exercise power under Section 3 of the KIAD Act without conforming to the prerequisites as prescribed under the 2013 Act, nor [can it] work the other provisions of the Act without adhering to other mandatory provisions of the 2013 Act and the rules framed thereunder,” the court said.
The court also said that Section 24 of the LARR Act, which states that land acquisitions under the LA Act, 1894 shall be deemed to have lapsed in certain cases, is applicable to an acquisition under the KIAD Act.
The court adjourned the case for further hearing to decide on the facts and merit of the petition in each case of acquisition.
