Communidade of Colvale, Colvale Goa vs State of Goa and Deputy Collector and Land Acquisition Officer, Collectorate Building, Panaji Goa

Heard the learned Counsel appearing for the Petitioner and the learned Additional Government Advocate on behalf of Respondents. The challenge in this Writ Petition under Article 227 of the Constitution of India is to the acquisition proceedings initiated on the basis of a notification u/s 4(1) of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 ( hereinafter referred to as "the said Act" ).

The Petitioner is a Communidade. The acquisition relates to land surveyed under survey Nos.47 and 22 approximately admeasuring an area of 13,070 square metres belonging to the Petitioner. A Notification u/s 4(1) of the said Act was issued by the State Government on 26th September, 2008. The purpose of acquisition as stated therein is of development of Government village school play ground. An objection was raised by the Petitioner to the acquisition. The objection was considered and overruled. A Notification u/s 6 of the said Act was issued on 22nd June, 2009. The report submitted by the Dy. Collector u/s 5A of the said Act is placed on record.

The learned Counsel appearing for the Petitioner submitted that the basic objection of the Petitioner was that the land sought to be acquired was already developed by the Petitioner as a play ground and it is being used by the youth, gaonkars as well as by the villagers. He submitted that the land is being used as a playground of a nearby school. He submitted that the case of the Petitioner is that the Petitioner proposes to develop the play ground by using various technologies with its own funds. He submitted that the facility of play ground will remain open for all the villagers. He submitted that there was no village school much less Government village school within a radius of 3 to 4 kilometers from the land sought to be acquired. He submitted that without spending any amount on acquisition, the State Government can provide infrastructure on the play ground which is already developed by the Petitioner. He submitted that as a result of acquisition, the villagers will be prevented from using the play ground. He pointed out that the information obtained under the Right to Information Act discloses that there are three primary schools in Colvale, Bardez Taluka. He pointed out that the information reveals that there is no proposal for acquisition of the said land for the aforesaid schools. He submitted that the acquisition proceedings is illegal and is required to be quashed and set aside. The Respondents filed affidavit in reply of Mr. A.S. Raut Dessai, Assistant Director of Sports and Youth Affairs, ( Projects) Government of Goa, Panaji.

We have given careful consideration to the submissions. It is true that the public purpose stated in the notification u/s 4(1) of the said Act is of development of Government village school play ground at Colvale. However, we have perused the report u/s 5A of the said Act submitted by the Dy. Collector on 8th June, 2009. The report considers the objection raised by the Petitioner. The report records that once the play ground is developed after the acquisition, there will be facilities of a standard football play field and facilities to play minor games like volleyball, Kho-Kho, Kabaddi etc. It is stated that proper development of the play ground is definitely in the interests of the public at large. In paragraph 5 of the said report, it is stated that the development of the play ground will be for the benefit of the students and non students.

In the affidavit of Mr. A.S. Raut Dessai, in paragraph 6, it is stated thus :

I say that the Collector North Goa District forwarded the proposal from the acquiring body i.e., The Directorate of Sports and Youth Affairs, Panaji to acquire the land admeasuring 13,070 square metres for the purpose of development of Government Village School Playground at Colvale. I say that along with this letter the Collector North Goa, has also forwarded all the relevant documents which were submitted by the acquiring body along with the proposal.

I say that the Department has proposed to construct a comprehensive sports complex at the proposed site. I say that it is proposed to construct not only a footfall ground but also playground for major and minor games, like volleyball, handball, kabbadi, Kho-Kho etc. It is proposed to provide various facilities at the site which will enable the local youth to develop their inborn talents.

(Underline supplied )

In paragraph 11, it is stated that the Petitioner has been misguided by the terminology used while challenging the purpose of acquisition. It is stated that the proposed playground will cater to the needs of the entire village and surrounding villages in the Taluka at large. In paragraph 12 of the said affidavit, it is specifically stated that though the purpose is captioned as Government Village School Playground, there is a composite scheme of the Government and under the said scheme, upon construction of the playground, any member of the public can use the same for developing his/her talents. It is pointed out in paragraph 13 that the Directorate of Sports is interested in promoting sports and games in the State of Goa right from the grass root level particularly in the rural/tribal areas wherein sports talent lies in abundance.

Perusal of the report u/s 5A of the said Act, and the aforesaid affidavit discloses that the purpose of acquisition is to construct a comprehensive sport complex on the acquired land which will have facilities for all major and minor games which will be available not only to all the villagers of Village Colvale, but to the villagers in the surrounding villages. We see no malafides or illegality in the action of the Respondent of initiating the acquisition proceedings. We accept the statements made in the affidavit of Mr. A.S. Raut Dessai. Subject to what is observed above, there is no merit in the Petition and the same is rejected.