Supreme Court orders partial release of enhanced land-acquisition compensation while Meerut appeals are pending

In a batch of special leave petitions arising from the 1987 Shatabdi Nagar Housing Scheme land acquisition in Meerut, the Supreme Court dealt with the gap between an original compensation award and a much larger enhanced one. The Land Acquisition Officer had fixed compensation at Rs. 20-27 per square yard in 1990; on reference, the Reference Court raised this in 2024 to Rs. 690-720 per square yard. The Meerut Development Authority's first appeals under Section 54 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 against this enhancement are pending before the Allahabad High Court, which had conditionally stayed execution on deposit of 50% of the enhanced sum in cash and security for the rest.

Noting its own earlier order in a similar batch of petitions involving the same authority, the Supreme Court disposed of the petitions by directing the Authority to deposit the entire enhanced compensation with the High Court registry within four weeks. Of this, 8.33% -- matching the proportion released in the earlier case -- is to go to the landowners now, with the balance placed in interest-bearing fixed deposits pending the appeals, returnable to the Authority if the appeals succeed. The Court also asked the High Court to decide the long-pending appeals within six months, noting the acquisition dates back 39 years.