Court orders seizure of govt property to pay for land acquired

A local court has ordered seizure of immovable assets of the district collector's office and the Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC) in order to pay two petitioners Rs 1.16 crore towards a 1983 land acquisition.

Principal senior civil judge J G Vadodaria ordered that "distress warrant" be issued against "debtors" municipal commissioner and the special land acquisition office (which comes under the collector).

Distress warrant is a court order to seize the property of a debtor.

The court, in March 2017, had ordered the VMC and the collectorate to pay Rs 1.16 crore to Shaheeda Ashfaq and Vikar Hakim as an enhanced compensation for 3,967 sq mt of land acquired for road widening in Pratapnagar here in 1983.

In November 2017, the petitioners informed the court that they had not received the money despite the order.

Irked, the court ordered the confiscation of immovable properties of the VMC and the collectorate last Tuesday.

The VMC, in the meantime, moved the Gujarat High Court against the lower court's order. The matter is pending in the HC.

The petitioners had filed a civil suit in 1983, not satisfied with the compensation they had got and demanded Rs 18 lakh for their land.

The court, on March 24, 2017, asked the two agencies to pay them Rs 18 lakh with 15 per cent annual interest. The total amount to be paid added up to Rs 1.16 crore.