The Supreme Court rules that rehabilitation is not mandatory in all land acquisition cases.
Odisha's waste management facilities are expanding to meet urbanisation demands.
Vidarbha Cricket Association is efficiently managing water resources within permissible limits.
In a landmark 88-page judgment, the Supreme Court July 14, 2025 said that in cases of land acquisition, the plea of deprivation of right to livelihood under Article 21 of the Constitution is unsustainable.
The bench of Justice JB Pardiwala and R Mahadevan called the case an eye opener for all states and said that if land is required for any public purpose, law permits the government or any instrumentality of Government to acquire in accordance with the provisions of the Land Acquisition Act or any other State Act enacted for the purpose of acquisition. When land is acquired for any public purpose the person whose land is taken away is entitled to appropriate compensation in accordance with the settled principles of law.
It is only in the rarest of the rare case that the Government may consider floating any scheme for rehabilitation of the displaced persons over and above paying them compensation in terms of money.
“At times the State Government with a view to appease its subjects float unnecessary schemes and ultimately land up in difficulties. It would unnecessarily give rise to a number of litigations,” the order noted.
The SC made it clear that it is not necessary that in all cases, over and above compensation in terms of money, rehabilitation of the property owners is a must. Any beneficial measures taken by the Government should be guided only by humanitarian considerations of fairness and equity towards the landowners.
Typically, rehabilitation should be intended solely for individuals who have become impoverished due to losing their homes or means of living as a result of land acquisition. Essentially, this applies to those whose lives and livelihoods are fundamentally tied to the land, the order stated.
Keeping in view the increase in urban population due to rapid urbanisation as well as inclusion of peri-urban areas within the jurisdiction of urban areas, it is observed that the present capacity of waste processing facilities needs to be enhanced adequately for effective management of solid waste, stated the compliance report by the Chief Secretary, Odisha on July 15, 2025.
The state has planned to establish and operationalise the compressed bio-gas (CBG) plants in identified urban local bodies (ULB) to address the management of solid waste effectively.
Out of a total of 115 ULBs, 23 had no legacy waste and the remaining 76 earlier had legacy waste, but have completely remediated the legacy waste dumpsites and reclaimed the land for use in developmental works.
A subsequent report from April 24, 2025, indicated that no new waste was being disposed of at the reclaimed sites. For the treatment of wet waste, 262 micro-composting centers (MCC) and a mechanical waste processing plant with a combined capacity of 1,243.5 metric tonnes per day have been set up. Additionally, for dry waste processing, 222 material recovery facilities (MRF) with a total capacity of 2,280 metric tonnes per day have been established and are operational in 114 ULBs.
Solid waste is being collected from households and bulk waste generators in the ULBs through door-to-door collection method is being processed in the MCCs and MRFs.
Generation of waste in a few ULBs increases for a period of time due to the temporary floating population and high footfall during festive seasons. For the time being, such additional waste is being processed through the window method.
Further, in order to manage additional generation of waste through waste processing facilities, the Housing and Urban Development Department has undertaken the establishment and operationalisation of the MCCs and MRFs.
Vidarbha Cricket Association is using water less than the permissible limit and has also installed two sewage treatment plants (STP) and a rainwater harvesting system.
Nonetheless, the organisation will need to use groundwater for upkeep, as it is essential for year-round cricket activities.
The reply on July 15, 2025 was in response to the NGT order of March 19, 2025. The court had directed all the cricket associations to present details relating to the use of STP-treated water and fresh water. This should include the annual volume of water used for irrigating the ground and proportion of STP-treated and fresh water used for the purpose.
The stadium authorities will also need to disclose if, despite the scarcity of fresh water, they intend to continue to use fresh water for irrigation of the grounds and the status of RWHS installed in the stadiums.
The Vidarbha Cricket Association stated that the association has been granted no objection certificate (NOC) by the Central Groundwater Authority (CGWA) on December 2, 2021 till December 1, 2026. The permissible limit as per NOC per day is 33 cubic metres and per year is 11,814 cubic metres. The yearly use of groundwater is much less than the permissible limit. The association has appointed agency name Forbes Marshall to keep record of the extraction of groundwater.
Daiki Axis India has been appointed to look after the installation and maintenance / functioning of the STPs. One STP is generating 7.2 cubic metres of treated water per day and the other STP is generating 9.2 m3 treated water per day.
Fresh water from any other source such as municipal corporation is not being used by the association for irrigating the ground. The association is situated in the locality of Nagpur city, which falls within the category of “safe zone”.
Final summary: In a significant ruling, the Supreme Court clarified that rehabilitation is not mandatory in all land acquisition cases, emphasising that compensation should suffice unless individuals are rendered destitute. The judgment highlights the need for fairness and equity, urging states to avoid unnecessary schemes that lead to litigation. Meanwhile, Odisha's waste management facilities are being upgraded to cope with urbanization, and Vidarbha Cricket Association is efficiently managing water resources, adhering to permissible limits.