Bengaluru: A 102-year-old landowner was forced to approach Karnataka high court to get officials to act on his plea for enhanced compensation for land acquired to build an alternative road to Kempegowda International Airport.Pulling up the special land acquisition officer (SLAO) for failing to discharge his statutory duties and comply with a court order, the high court has directed the officer to pay Rs 1 lakh in compensation to B Ramaiah of Bettakote village in Devanahalli taluk.In an order dated Aug 31, Justice R Nataraj also directed the SLAO of the Doddaballapura sub-division to refer Ramaiah’s claim for enhanced compensation to the competent court within one month.Ramaiah alleged that although the authorities had notified the acquisition of 28 guntas of land, they took possession of 29 guntas to construct an alternative road connecting Bettakote village to the airport.He contended that, instead of following the procedure prescribed under Sections 9 and 10 of the Land Acquisition Act-1894, the SLAO determined compensation at just Rs 4.2 lakh for the 29 guntas. He also alleged that officials had damaged the stone slabs he installed around his property.Dissatisfied with the compensation, Ramaiah sought Rs 18.5 lakh and repeatedly approached the SLAO, requesting that his claim for enhanced compensation be referred to a civil court under Section 18(3)(b) of the Act. However, his representations went unheeded, forcing the centenarian to seek the high court’s intervention.Justice Nataraj found that the SLAO had failed to discharge his statutory duties under the land acquisition law and had also disregarded an order passed by a local court in Ramaiah’s favour.Taking serious note of the official’s inaction, the high court imposed costs of Rs 1 lakh, payable to Ramaiah as compensation, and directed that his claim for enhanced compensation be referred to the competent court within the stipulated period.
