HC directs govt to allot sites to STF personnel

Hearing a petition by Lingaraju and others, who had moved the High Court against the State Government order fixing Rs 210 per sq feet of land for 1,200 sq feet site (30x40) dimension, Justice Mohan Shantanagoudar directed that the STF personnel be compensated with site at Rs 2,100 per sq mt.

The Court has also said that in case the site is not available and the members reject the compensation, they can purchase the sites from the local bodies when they form the layouts.

Directing that the STF personnel should be given first preference when allocating the sites, the Court said that if the price of the site exceeds the compensation amount fixed by the Government, the members will pay the difference amount. The Bench said that if the price of the site is less than Government’s compensation, the remaining amount should refunded.

The Government package for STF personnel included an increment, Rs 50 crore cash reward for 754 members and a site. The STF personnel filed a contempt petition as the promise remained on paper despite the High Court order.

The State Government sticking to its stance that it cannot allocate the land, but offered to compensate the STF members saying that sites are not available. However when the STF personnel approached High Court questioning it again, the State made a submission fixing Rs 2,100 per sq mt for 1,200 sq ft land on October 26, 2010.

Justice Mohan Shantanagoudar disposing of the petition has directed the State to pay  an interest of 12 per cent, if they are unable to allocate sites within three months.