The Supreme Court criticized the Maharashtra government for its “dilly-dallying” and “non-serious” approach in calculating compensation for a person whose land was “illegally” occupied over 60 years ago.
A bench of Justices BR Gavai, Prashant Mishra, and KV Viswanathan issued a show cause notice to Rajesh Kumar, the additional chief secretary of the Forest and Revenue Department, demanding to know why contempt action should not be taken against him for “contemptuous remarks” in an affidavit. Kumar has been ordered to appear in court on September 9.
The Court expressed frustration over the state’s delay in recalculating the compensation. “It seems the state is adopting dilly-dallying tactics,” the bench said, criticizing both the affidavit and the officer who signed it.
The Court warned that if the state does not resolve the compensation issue, it may halt the “Ladli Bahin” scheme, which provides ₹1,500 monthly to eligible women under the Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana.
The Court noted that recent calculations estimated the compensation at about ₹48.65 crore. It criticized the state for using outdated 1989 rates and failing to account for the current land value.
The Pune collector has identified 14 hectares of land in Moje Yewalewadi, Pune, which could be allotted to the applicant. The applicant is to visit the Pune collector’s office on August 30 to inspect the land and decide whether to accept it as compensation instead of monetary payment.
The case stems from the state’s earlier seizure of land from the applicant, which was later allocated to the Armament Research Development Establishment Institute (ARDEI).
Although the applicant’s case reached the Supreme Court, they have faced repeated obstacles in securing their due compensation. The state claimed that the land was ultimately designated as forest land, complicating the matter further.
