CUTTACK: The Orissa High Court has dismissed a petition filed by a resident of Gopalprasad village in Talcher area seeking quashing of eviction notices and rehabilitation prior to dispossession from land for the Hingula temple peripheral development project.
The single judge bench of Justice SK Panigrahi noted that the land in question forms part of the Hingula open cast project of Mahanadi Coalfields Limited (MCL). It had been acquired under the Coal Bearing Areas (Acquisition and Development) Act through notifications issued between 1994 and 1997, with possession taken over by MCL in 1999. Upon acquisition, all rights, title and interest of private persons stood extinguished and the land vested absolutely in the central government.
On merits, the court found that the petitioner had no recorded title or tenancy and did not dispute that the land is government/MCL property. His claim of residence for three generations was found unsubstantiated. Long illegal occupation does not confer any legal right and that mere passage of time or possession of identity documents showing residence does not vest any right or create any adverse title against the true owner, the court reiterated.
While acknowledging that rehabilitation and resettlement should be extended to genuine displaced families, the court accepted the stand of the state and MCL that the petitioner was never identified as a project-displaced person under applicable policies. In the absence of any legal entitlement, Justice Panigrahi held that eviction could not be conditioned upon rehabilitation.
Holding that the eviction notices were issued lawfully for a legitimate public purpose connected with peripheral development works of Maa Hingula temple, Justice Panigrahi dismissed the petition along with four other similar petitions.