Date:04/12/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/12/04/stories/2008120459960400.htm

Karnataka - Bangalore

Acquisition of land upheld

Staff Reporter

BANGALORE: The Karnataka High Court on Wednesday upheld the acquisition of land at Kadubeesanahalli in Varthur hobli, Bangalore, for industrial purposes.

Justice Ajit Gunjal passed the order on a petition filed by Ramaswamy of Kadubeesanahalli who had challenged the acquisition of his land by the Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board (KIADB).

In his petition, Mr. Ramaswamy said that he had obtained the land in 1975.

Mr. Ramaswamy said that the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) had acquired 12 guntas of the land for formation of the Outer Ring Road.

Mr. Ramaswamy said that in 2004, the Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board issued a notification acquiring 61 acres at Amani Belandurukere, 60 acres in Kariyammana Agrahara and 22.31 acres in Kadubeesanahalli.

Mr. Ramaswamy said that the preliminary and final notifications were issued without giving proper notice.

He had urged the court to strike down the land acquisition.

Justice Gunjal dismissed the petition and upheld the acquisition of land.

Coal supply

Justice N.K. Patil adjourned a petition by Knowledge Infrastructure of Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, challenging a government notification in awarding MMTC, a government company, the tender to supply six lakh metric tonnes of coal to the Raichur Thermal Power Station (RTPS).

The petitioner had said its tender was not considered for flimsy reasons and had urged the court to stay the notification.

The court had several weeks ago stayed the operation of the tender notification.

This order was subsequently modified by a Division Bench and the State was permitted to make payment for the coal already supplied to Raichur Thermal Power Station by MMTC.

Adjourned

Justice N.K. Patil on Wednesday adjourned hearing of a petition by M. Nuthan, M. Veerabhadraswamy and several others challenging a Government Order liberalising rules relating to sand quarrying on government land.

The petitioners said that they had paid lakhs of rupees to the Government for obtaining licences to excavate sand.

However, the Government recently relaxed the rules and permitted people to quarry sand by paying Rs. 250 a lorry load.