P L D 2005 Karachi 47 (PLP)

However, all the above exercises shall be undertaken and completed by me subject to enquiry and verification of bona fides of claim and relevant documents/papers pertaining to claims/awards from the official record and legal position on the subject. Hyderabad. Dated 22-9-2004. (Sd.) (Ashfaque Ahmed Memon) Secretary Government of Sindh (Irrigation) Department, Karachi. We have no objection to take on record the contents of para. No. 1 of the said statement but the contents of para. Nos. 2 and 3 of the said statement are outside the authority of the Secretary. The Secretary of the Acquiring Agency cannot exercise the powers of the Land Acquisition Officer nor could he assume the powers of a Referee Court. Once the notification under sections 4 and 6 are issued under the Land Acquisition Act, the Acquiring Agency is bound to deposit the entire amount of compensation to the Land Acquisition Officer before he awards the compensation to the claimants. If the claim of compensation or the title of the claimant in fictitious, then in such an eventuality, the Land Acquisition Officer cannot determine it and or verify the same and is bound under section 31-A of the Land Acquisition Act to refer the matter to the Referee Court for his decision and shall also deposit the amount of compensation in the said Court. Through the present statement, the Secretary Irrigation intends to acquire the powers of the Referee Court, which he cannot exercise. Even such powers are, not available with the Land Acquisition Officer. We, therefore, for the aforesaid reasons do not accept the contents of para. Nos. 2 and 3 of the statement of the Secretary as such powers could neither be delegated nor could they be exercised by the Secretary irrigation and therefore contents of paras. 2 and 3 of the statement would not form part of this order. Since the Secretary has given assurance in para. I of his statement that an amount of three million would be made available to the different Land Acquisition Officers for which a requisition has been made by him. We expect that this would be expedited it and the requisitioned amount would be made available by the Finance Department for disbursement to the different Land Acquisition Officers for onward payments to the Petitioners or claimants. We further expect that different claims for payment of compensation would also be taken up on priority basis by the Secretary Irrigation and appropriate requisition would be made to the Finance Department without further loss of time to avoid further future interest against the interest of the Government in terms of section 23(2), 28-A and 34 of the Land Acquisition Act. This exercise would be undertaken by the Secretary Irrigation within three months from the date of communication of this order and the shall submit his report to this Court through Additional Registrar after three months. The Land Acquisition Officer on receipt of the amounts from the Acquiring Agency shall forthwith either make payments to the claimants if there is no dispute over title otherwise he shall deposit it forthwith with the Referee Court under section 31(2) of the Land Acquisition Act, failing which, the said Land Acquisition Officer would be exposed to contempt proceedings beside the disciplinary action which this Court may propose against them. We have noticed that the Land Acquisition Officer while giving awards have stopped payment of solitium as provided under sections 23(2), 28-A and 34 of the Land Acquisition Act under an erroneous advice of law Department. The amount of solitium is mandatory and cannot be withheld by the Government. Delay in payment losses as such amount continue multiplying till they are finally paid. We therefore, direct the Chief secretary Sing to issue appropriate directions to the Land Acquisition Officers to give (sic) include all the solitium as provided under the Land Acquisition Act to save the Government from huge financial losses. This order be communicated to the Chief Secretary Sindh for appropriate directions to all the concerned including the Land Acquisition Officers of the Province. H.B.T./S-68/K Order accordingly.