HYDERABAD, Oct 8: The Sindh High Court, Hyderabad circuit bench, on Wednesday dismissed nine appeals of Wapda, challenging the passage of the Land Acquisition Award for the acquisition of land for the Left Bank Outfall Drain project of 1993, on the ground that once Khatedars are deprived of their lands they were entitled to compensation.

All the nine appeals were filed by the executive engineer of LBOD, Wapda, through Advocate Mohammad Idrees Naqshbandi against those private respondents whose lands were acquired for the project by the land acquisition officer.

Additional Advocate General (Sindh) Masood A. Noorani represented the deputy district officer, revenue, Fakhar Hussain.

These appeals were dismissed by Justice Amir Hani Muslim while referring to certain clauses of the Constitution of Pakistan.

The appellants had filed the appeal against rejection of their references by the referee court

The appellants’ counsel argued that the land acquisition officer passed the award pertaining to lands which were bogus, exaggerated and unutilized.

He said that the land acquisition officer neither supplied nor communicated copy of the award which was passed by him on May 3, 1999.

The appellants filed the appeals on the ground that the lands, acquired for the LBOD, remained unutilized by them.

Justice Muslim said that under Articles 4 and 24 of the Constitution no citizen could be denied or deprived of his property without payment of compensation and the Khatedars were deprived of their lands in 1993.

“What is most unfortunate is that these government functionaries keep on dragging matters delaying payment of compensation to these Khatedars resulting in the accumulation of a huge amount as additional compensation which they have to pay under the LAA 1894,” the order stated.

It was observed by the court that the appellants were refusing payment on the ground that portions of these lands were not being utilized, and added that the appellants did not resort to provisions of section 4B of the LAA for de-notifying such unutilized land.

The court upheld the findings of the referee court and dismissed all appeals.