High Court dismisses PIL challenging Vizag land pooling scheme
Real Estate

High Court dismisses PIL challenging Vizag land pooling scheme

The Public interest litigation (PIL) against the government's land pooling scheme in Visakhapatnam was dismissed by the high court on Friday.

The court clarified that the Visakhapatnam Metropolitan Region Development Authority (VMRDA) can pool lands from those who voluntarily consented to the scheme, but not from those who did not agree to.

Bhusekharana Land Pooling Taithu Kooli Nirvasitula Sankshema Sangam filed the PIL to challenge the VMRDA's land pooling notification from 2020. They claimed that the government announced the scheme to get around the amended Land Acquisition Act, which requires farmers to be compensated.

The government claims that it is only taking land from those who are willing to join the land pooling scheme. While over 6,500 acres of land will be acquired to provide housing sites for nearly 1.85 million poor people, only about 4,500 acres have been approved, and only that amount of land has been purchased.

After hearing the arguments, a bench led by Chief Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra and Justice M Satyanarayana Murthy concluded that the petitioners lacked standing to file a PIL on the matter. Even if some of the petitioners are aggrieved, the court said that they can file an independent petition. The high court dismissed the PIL and allowed VMRDA to continue with its scheme, giving affected people the right to file an independent petition with the court.

The VMRDA is Visakhapatnam's urban planning agency in Andhra Pradesh, India. The existing Visakhapatnam Urban Development Authority was expanded to form it.

Image Source

Also read: Panchkula civic body to set up 24 sectors under land pooling schemes

The Public interest litigation (PIL) against the government's land pooling scheme in Visakhapatnam was dismissed by the high court on Friday. The court clarified that the Visakhapatnam Metropolitan Region Development Authority (VMRDA) can pool lands from those who voluntarily consented to the scheme, but not from those who did not agree to. Bhusekharana Land Pooling Taithu Kooli Nirvasitula Sankshema Sangam filed the PIL to challenge the VMRDA's land pooling notification from 2020. They claimed that the government announced the scheme to get around the amended Land Acquisition Act, which requires farmers to be compensated. The government claims that it is only taking land from those who are willing to join the land pooling scheme. While over 6,500 acres of land will be acquired to provide housing sites for nearly 1.85 million poor people, only about 4,500 acres have been approved, and only that amount of land has been purchased. After hearing the arguments, a bench led by Chief Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra and Justice M Satyanarayana Murthy concluded that the petitioners lacked standing to file a PIL on the matter. Even if some of the petitioners are aggrieved, the court said that they can file an independent petition. The high court dismissed the PIL and allowed VMRDA to continue with its scheme, giving affected people the right to file an independent petition with the court. The VMRDA is Visakhapatnam's urban planning agency in Andhra Pradesh, India. The existing Visakhapatnam Urban Development Authority was expanded to form it. Image Source Also read: Panchkula civic body to set up 24 sectors under land pooling schemes

Next Story
Infrastructure Urban

Amit Gupta Appointed CFO of Vedanta Jharsuguda Unit

Vedanta Aluminium has announced the appointment of Amit Gupta as Deputy Chief Financial Officer of its aluminium business and Chief Financial Officer of its Jharsuguda unit in Odisha.Gupta has been associated with the Vedanta Group since 2018, beginning as Group Head – FP&A at Vedanta Resources. With over two decades of cross-sector experience, he brings strong expertise in financial strategy, project finance, and business transformation.Prior to this role, he served as CFO of Bharat Aluminium Company (BALCO), where he led finance operations for more than four years. He has also held sen..

Next Story
Infrastructure Energy

Adani Power To Build 2,400 MW Plant in Bihar

Adani Power on Saturday (September 13, 2025) announced plans to set up a 2,400 MW ultra super-critical power plant in Bihar at an investment of $3 billion (around Rs 26.48 billion).The company has signed a 25-year Power Supply Agreement (PSA) with Bihar State Power Generation Company Ltd (BSPGCL) to supply electricity from the project, which will be located at Pirpainti in Bhagalpur district.The PSA follows a Letter of Award issued by BSPGCL to Adani Power on behalf of North Bihar Power Distribution Company Ltd (NBPDCL) and South Bihar Power Distribution Company Ltd (SBPDCL) in August. Adani P..

Next Story
Infrastructure Energy

NTPC Plans Nuclear Power Projects Via JV and Standalone Routes

Power major NTPC is planning to develop nuclear power projects both through joint ventures and on a standalone basis, CMD Gurdeep Singh has said.The company is collaborating with nuclear technology providers and state governments to explore individual nuclear projects, Singh added.Currently, the NTPC Group has an installed capacity of 82,926 MW across 53 NTPC-owned stations and 53 joint venture or subsidiary stations, drawing power from coal, liquid fuel, hydro, and solar sources.In December 2024, Singh had announced NTPC’s ambitious plan to enter the nuclear energy sector, a move expected t..

Advertisement

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Get daily newsletters around different themes from Construction world.

STAY CONNECTED

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Talk to us?