Court upholds land acquisition for East-West Metro station

The Calcutta High Court today set aside a trial court order upholding the acquisition of land by the transport department of the West Bengal government for construction of Central Station at Bowbazar in the city under the East-West Metro project.
A division bench comprising Chief Justice Arun Mishra and Justice Joymalyo Bagchi upheld the acquisition, observing that the state has proved that the award was announced within the statutory period of two years and not beyond that as claimed by the residents who had challenged the acquisition.
The state's Land and Land Revenue Department had moved the division bench against an order of Justice Jyotirmoy Bhattacharya, who had in September last passed an order that the entire land acquisition proceedings concerning the properties stood lapsed.

The single bench had observed that the consequences for non-publication of compensation award within the statutory period as provided in Section 11A of Land Acquisition Act, 1894, would follow in the case.
The Central Calcutta Citizens Welfare Association had filed the writ petition in 2010, challenging the proceeding for acquisition of a number of premises on B B Ganguly Street and Mohim Chandra Das Sarani for the purpose of running Metro Railway from Salt Lake Sector-V to Howrah Station under East West Metro Corridor Project by the Transport Department.
The Central station, where the East West Metro is to cross the existing Dumdum-Kabi Subhash Metro service, is scheduled to come up there.