SC pulls up state authorities for not paying dues to villagers for their land

Calling it a classic case of the state authorities not paying compensation to villagers after acquiring their land the Supreme Court on Monday warned the officials of the Maharashtra government to disburse the funds by January 31 or face contempt action news agency PTI reportedA bench of Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh was hearing the case over the land acquired from the villagers of Jambhalkhori Borphadi in Beed district of Maharashtra for the construction of a water tank under the Employees Guarantee Scheme in 2005This is a classic case where authorities of Maharashtra government denied the compensation to the people whose land was compulsorily acquired said the benchIt came on the record that despite the orders for payment of more than Rs 149 crore attaining finality the dues was not paid to the aggrieved villagers PTI reportedWe are completely disappointed to see the manner in which the state authorities have conducted themselves in this case the bench saidSaying it had adopted a lenient view and not issued a notice on the plea filed on behalf of the zilla parishad of Beed district or heard the erring officials the top court chose not to comment further on the issue PTI reportedBeed Collector to ensure that the villagers received the amountThe court however issued a host of directions and directed the chief secretary principal secretary finance and principal secretary panchayat and rural development of Maharashtra to take cognisance of the matter within one weekIssue necessary sanction for the release of compensation amount to the respondents villagers along with the interests till date as also exemplary cost that may be determined by the reference court the bench heldGoing by the directive the compensation will have to be paid to the landowners and other similarlyplaced persons by January 31 with filing of compliance reports in the high courtThe bench directed the collector of Beed district to act as a nodal officer and ensure that the villagers received the amountThe chief secretary is further directed to seek the explanation of collector Beed and thereafter determine which is the department concerned liable to pay the compensation and take suitable action against the erring officials it saidThe bench said if the exercise was not carried out by January 31 the registrar general of Bombay High Court would hear the case for registration of suo motu contempt proceedings against all officers concerned and proceed with the contempt of court caseFarmers denied compensation for 19 years Supreme CourtThe cost amount of Rs 1 lakh imposed by the high court shall be recovered personally from the officers found guiltyresponsible for nonpayment of compensation amount it directedThe bench said that instead of suo motu summoning the collector and awarding a befitting sentence for contempt of court the high court made certain observations against that officer in its order on November 18 2024It noted after the authorities did not pay the compensation to the villagers they moved the court for execution of the awardThe civil judge then attached the bank account of zilla parishad as one of the coercive measures for the recovery of the dues However the parishad moved the Aurangabad bench of the Bombay High Court against the step and argued that the Maharashtra government through the Beed collector was liable to pay the compensationOn November 18 2024 the high court said there were a number of schemes floated by the Maharashtra government for distribution of money including Ladki Bahin etc and it clearly showed there was no dearth of fundsThe high court said the lands of the claimants were acquired as early as 2005 and despite its orders they were denied the compensation in the past 19 yearsWhile dismissing the plea the high court imposed Rs 1 lakh as costs on the Beed collector or zilla parishad jointly or severally for their failure to pay the compensationWith PTI inputs