Delhi High Court: The 2-Judge Bench comprising of S. Ravindra Bhat and S.P. Garg JJ., directed the constitution of an efficient cell and advanced software for land management policies after a newspaper report against the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) instigated suo motu proceedings.
The ongoing case had two major issues, the justification and details of the land acquisition prior to 1961 and the DDA not being in possession of the acquired land. It was highlighted that Section 24(2) of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 lead to a lapse of the acquisition of land if neither possession nor compensation was done.
In these circumstances, the Court has recommended the DDA, the Government of NCT of Delhi and the Central Government to create an independent cell with statutory powers under the DDA to frame effective land management policies and also to ensure an effective software, cater real time need of the agencies, and to evolve the appropriate task force, to clear encroachments in a time bound and systematic manner. The Court has also directed the DDA to submit an action taken report within 10 weeks, after consultation with other parties and also to submit a list on 19-01-2018 to ensure that consequential action has been taken. [Court on its Own Motion v. NCT of Delhi, 2017 SCC OnLine Del 11751, decided on 17.11.2017]
