TMI Blog2003 (3) TMI 772X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... the said order, residential lay outs were sanctioned in the lands sought to be acquired and plots were also demarcated. The appellants also pointed out that the lands in question were surrounded by developed colonies with residential quarters, industries, marketyards and other commercial complexes in the near vicinity. The appellants also contended that the land is close to national highway and State bus-stand. On the said basis the appellants claimed a compensation @ Rs. 1.75 per sq. ft. Based on the claim of the appellants, the Collector who held an inquiry under Section 11 of the Act, called for information report from the Assistant Director of Town Planning for determination of the compensation payable. The said Asstt. Director of Town Planning in turn referred the matter to the Director. Town Planning, Pune, who as per the matter to the 20.10.2000 taking into consideration the non-agricultural potentiality of the lands and other prevailing factors, directed that the lands in question should be valued taking into consideration the non-agricultural potentiality of the land. Based on the said recommendation of the Director of Town Planning. the Asstt. Director. Town Planning, ev ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... on. The High Court also held that if the appellants were aggrieved by the reduction in the market value, they would approach the Reference Court under Section 18 of the Act. 6. Mr. V.A. Mehta, learned senior counsel appearing for the appellants, reiterated the contention of the appellants urged before the High Court and further contended that under the Scheme of the Act, the proceeding before the Collector under Section 11 is a quasi-judicial proceeding wherein the Land Acquisition Officer is statutorily required to make an award taking into consideration the factors enumerated in the said section after giving notice to the interested persons. In the said proceedings, the determination of the market value or the compensation payable to the claimants is to be done on the satisfaction of the Collector based on the material on record and not based on any other authority's satisfaction. Learned counsel contended that the requirement of prior approval found in the proviso to Section 11(1) is not an appellate power but only an administrative act of accepting or not accepting the proposed award made by the Collector, therefore, the Commissioner had no jurisdiction to reappreciate t ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... inion of the Collector and not that of any other person. Section, 11 under the Act has no provided an appeal to any other authority as against the opinion formed by the Collector in the process of inquiry conducted by him. What is provided under the proviso to Section 11(1) is that the proposed award made by the Collector must have the approval of the appropriate Government of such officer as the appropriate Government may authorise in that behalf. In our opinion, this power of granting or not granting previous approval cannot be equated with an appellate power. Black's Law Dictionary, 6th Edition, defines 'approval' to mean an act of confirming ratifying assenting, sanctioning or consenting to some act or thing done by another. In the context of an administrative act, the word 'approval' in our opinion, does not mean anything more than either confirming, ratifying, assenting, sanctioning or consenting. It will be doing violence to the Scheme of the Act if we have to construe and accept the argument of learned counsel for the respondents that the word approval found in the proviso to Section 11(1) of the Act under the Scheme of the Act amounts to an appellate po ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... fore, it is clear that the statute when it intended to give appellate or revisional power against the finding of the Collector in the fixation of compensation it has provided such power separately in Section 15A of the Act. Therefore, in our opinion, if the Commissioner while considering the proposed award of the Collector under the proviso to Section 11(1) of the Act to grant or not to grant approval if he thinks that the order of the Collector cannot be approved, he can at the most on the administrative side bring it to the notice of the appropriate Government to exercise its power under Section 15A of the Act, but he cannot as in the present case on his own exercise the said power because that power under Section 15A is confined to the appropriate Government only. Therefore we have to negative the argument of Mr. Joshi that it is open to the Commissioner while considering the grant of approval to exercise the power either found in Section 15A of the Act or similar power exercising his jurisdiction under proviso to Section 11(1) of the Act. 10. The power under Section 15A of the Act is exercisable by the appropriate Government and the same cannot be exercised by the Commission ..... 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