The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed the Mukesh Ambani-promoted Mumbai SEZ plea for staying the land acquisition process for its project in the Raigad district of Maharashtra. The notification for the land acquisition issued by the state government lapses on June 8 and hence the company had challenged the Bombay High Court which had asked the Mumbai SEZ on May 22 to move the Supreme Court for expediting land acquisition as various public interest petitions pertaining to the issue were pending before the apex court.
A bench headed by Justice B Sudarshan Reddy dismissed the plea of the firm challenging the Bombay High Court interim order that refused to stay the process of land acquisition. However, the Supreme Court issued notice to the Maharashtra government on another plea of Mumbai SEZ seeking transfer of its petition pending before the high court.
Even as the Mumbai SEZ declined to comment on the apex court order, there are indications that the Mumbai SEZ may have to start afresh land acquisition process under section 4 and 6 of the Land Acquisition Act as the state government has already announced that there will be no forceful acquisition.
Mumbai SEZ, which has acquired few hectare of land of the total requirement of 10,000 hectare by spending around Rs 600 crore, will be necessitated to undergo the stipulated procedure of public hearing if it decides to restart the land acquisition. As reported earlier, the Mumbai SEZ sources informally admitted that it may not be possible to pursue the project without the acquisition of necessary land.
The state revenue minister Patangrao Kadam told reporters it was not the state government?s headache to acquire land for the proposed SEZ.
However, he said revenue secretary has been asked to examine the apex court order. Earlier senior counsel Shanti Bhushan, appearing for the MSEZ, sought the stay on the land acquisition proceedings initiated by notifications under Sections 4 and 6 on the grounds that if the acquisition is not completed by June 8, the entire process will lapse under the Land Acquisition Act, 1894.
A stay would have made the deadline redundant. Side by side, Mumbai SEZ Ltd and its authorised representative Dilipkumar Vitthaldas Dherai also sought a direction to the state government to expedite the land acquisition process for setting up the SEZ in Raigad.
Besides, the company sought a direction to the state government to make and publish awards in respect of lands where consents have been given and sale agreements have been entered into with landowners.