Jaipur High Court quashes land acquisition for Metro depot

The Jaipur High Court has quashed the acquisition of 27 hectares of land for the Jaipur Metro Rail Car Depot at Sanganer. The court ruled that the acquisition was illegal, as the notification issued on May 26, 2011 and July 5 2012 and the notice on July 12, 2012, violated sections 4 and 5 (A) of the Land Acquisition Act. The single bench of the court quashed the proceedings, holding that under section 5A, the land owner must be given an opportunity to object to the acquisition proceedings, which was not done in this case. The land in question is owned by Ashok Kotawala and his business firms, and measures 27 hectares. A motel owned by the petitioners is also located on the land. The petitioners argued that the land is too far away from the metro rail terminal and is not suitable for the car shade of the metro, as it is in a low-lying area. They also argued that they were never invited by the land acquisition officer to give their objections to the acquisition proceedings, as required by section 5A of the Act. The court found that the petitioners' arguments were valid and quashed the acquisition proceedings. Also Read HP govt focuses on business-friendly environment and investment TCC seeks consultants for green power project optimisation