Srinagar- The Supreme Court of India has issued notice to Jammu & Kashmir government as the aggrieved land owners from Wathoora district Budgam had moved an appeal against the J&K High Court Division Bench order dated 16th November 2022 wherein the court had directed the authorities to pass fresh award in Srinagar Ring Road construction case, but the assessment of the compensation was to be made as per J&K Land Acquisition Act Samvat 1990 which has been repealed now post article 370 abrogation.
The Government also didn’t adhere to the provisions of the said order and preferred to challenge the order in the Supreme Court through an SLP which is yet to be listed there.
Details available reveal that Supreme Court bench of Justice A S Bopana and Sanjay Kumar on Monday heard the counsel of the petitioners Senior Advocate Anitha Shenoy and Srishti Agnihotri , Advocate on Record (AOR) in the case of Special Leave Petition-SLP titled Gulzar Ahmad Akhoon and others v/s UT of J&K and others.
The SC bench in its order condoned the delay in filing of the SLP and issued notice to the respondents (Govt of J&K and others). The counsel for the petitioners Senior Advocate Anitha Shenoy requested that National Highway Authority of India -NHAI be impleaded as party in the case and SC bench allowed the same.
The J&K High Court on November 16th 2022 had directed the Collector Land Acquisition, Budgam to pass a fresh award in Wathoora as the petitioners had challenged the award passed in 2021 at a time when the central land acquisition law was already extended to J&K. The aggrieved petitioners had demanded that the award passed by Collector land acquisition Budgam has lapsed due to efflux of time as Govt is supposed to pass an award within 2 years from the date of issuance of notification under section 6 of erstwhile JK Land Acquisition Act Samvat 1990.
The High Court in its order dated Nov 16th 2022 had said “ The Collector Land Acquisition shall pass a fresh award qua the petitioners only and for that purpose shall construe 11th August, 2020 (date of final award) as the relevant date for determination of market value but shall apply the yardsticks for assessment of compensation provided under the 1990 Act in respect of acquired land of the petitioners only. The Collector shall calculate other statutory benefits on such amounts including interest to be calculated and determined by taking into consideration the date of taking over possession i.e. 13th March, 2018”
“We were not satisfied with this order and infact the Govt also didn’t implement the same. By virtue of this order we would have got 30 to 40 % more compensation but we want four times more compensation which is a provision under the central law applicable to J&K post 370 abrogation. We challenged the High Court order in the Supreme Court. We are grateful to the apex court who allowed our appeal -SLP and issued notice to Govt of J&K. We want to get the benefits of central land acquisition law which was extended to J&K with effect from Oct 31st 2019 but the Govt forcibly took our land under the old and outdated law in 2020 “ said Gulzar Ahmad Akhoon the petitioner in the case
The counsel of the petitioners have pleaded before the Supreme Court land which was acquired in Wathoora has a market value of Rs 1 Crore per kanal and the aggrieved petitioners are supposed to 4 times more compensation under Central Act (Right to Fair Compensation Act 2013) which amounts to approximately Rs 4 Crores per kanal, but the Govt gave them mere Rs 38 lakhs plus 15 % solatium (jabirana).
===
J&K Offers One Of The Lowest Tariff Rates To Its Consumers: PDD
Smart meters known for accurate energy measurement, department demonstrated, proves at public places, consumer premises
Observer News Service
Srinagar: The J&K Power Development department on Tuesday rejected a news report published by a local daily and maintained that the department was offering lowest electricity tariff to its customers in the Union Territory.
“In response to a news item published in local daily of Jammu and Kashmir on 12th September, the J&K Power Development department states that news report is factually incorrect and the department was not consulted before publication of this news item,” an official spokesperson said.
According to communique of JKPDD, he said, the Hydro Power projects of Jammu and Kashmir have been developed in both State and Central sectors and the UT-owned plants contribute to 18 % of the total energy requirement. It adds that the allocations from Central Generating Stations (CGS) contributes to the majority (70%) of the power supply and remaining (12 %) is sourced from Power exchange/private sector.
The communique further reads that power generation from the UT owned power plants, a major part of J&K’s own electricity generation is produced from the Baglihar Hydro Electric Project (BHEP), which generates approximately 900 megawatts (MW) of power and the other locally owned power generation plants like Upper Sindh, Lower Jhelum, Chenani etc, collectively generate around 200-250 MW only. It adds that the total power generation of approximately culminates to 1100-1140 MWs through UT’s own generating stations, which however, dips to around 200 MWs in winters due to low water discharge in rivers, when the peak demand rises to more than 3000 MWs. The communique further reads that remaining requirement of the power during winters is met through the Central Generating Stations (CGS) located both within and outside the J&K’s boundary.
The PDD further states that out of total installed capacity of 1140 MW in UT sector, the major share of around 1030 MW (88% of total capacity) is utilised in J&K, while the remaining 150 MW is sold outside the J&K to honour the agreements executed between J&K and other entities in the year 2009.
The communique adds that during last four-year period, J&K has not added any PPA for selling power outside J&K i.e same quantum has been maintained as per the previous PPAs. It also reads that new PPAs have been signed for procuring power to the tune of 2845 MW for J&K, from different power houses (hydro and solar) being developed by CPSUs/JV of J&K & NHPC at nominal price, in the year 2023, thereby doubling the PPAs capacity/availability of power to J&K in the coming years.
In terms of tariff charges, Jammu and Kashmir offers one of the lowest tariff rates to its consumers in various categories, underscoring its commitment to providing affordable electricity to its residents, it adds.
The communique also reads that it is wrong notion that consumers are getting inflated bills after the installation of smart meters, rather smart meters are known for accurate energy measurement which has been demonstrated and proved by the department at several public places and consumer premises.
In addition, smart meters also provide the consumers with the access to real-time data on their energy usage (daily, monthly, and hourly), insights into their average daily consumption, comprehensive billing information, applied tariff rates, and other relevant information – all aimed at empowering consumers to make informed decisions about their energy consumption, the communique reads.
Follow this link to join our WhatsApp group: Join Now
Be Part of Quality Journalism |
Quality journalism takes a lot of time, money and hard work to produce and despite all the hardships we still do it. Our reporters and editors are working overtime in Kashmir and beyond to cover what you care about, break big stories, and expose injustices that can change lives. Today more people are reading Kashmir Observer than ever, but only a handful are paying while advertising revenues are falling fast. |
| ACT NOW |
| MONTHLY | Rs 100 |  |
| YEARLY | Rs 1000 | |
| LIFETIME | Rs 10000 | |
