Section 80 interest is payable on entire compensation, including solatium and Section 30(3) interest.

The petitioner claimed ownership through his deceased mother, Bibi Taslima, over land in Khata No. 228, Plot No. 1959, Thana No. 81, Mauza Harinkol, Bhagalpur.

Although approximately 0.37 acres of the land was acquired for the Pirpainti Thermal Power Project, compensation proceedings initially assessed and paid compensation only for 0.22 acres, leaving 0.15 acres unpaid.

Enquiries by the District Land Acquisition Officer and the project authorities subsequently confirmed that 0.37 acres fell within the acquired area and that the short assessment resulted from a measurement error.

After repeated representations and an earlier writ petition, the authorities assessed and paid the petitioner Rs. 20,14,200 on 27 August 2025, while disputes continued regarding the correct compensation and statutory interest.

The petitioner claimed a substantially higher amount, including compensation, solatium, 12% additional amount, and interest under Sections 30(3) and 80 of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 (“RFCTLARR Act”).

1. Whether the petitioner was entitled to compensation for the additional 0.15 acres acquired for the project, notwithstanding the initial payment made for only 0.22 acres

2. Whether the amount payable under Section 30(3) of the RFCTLARR Act was to be calculated on the market value of the land together with the value of assets, but excluding the solatium amount

3. Whether interest under Section 80 of the RFCTLARR Act was payable on the entire compensation amount, including solatium and the amount under Section 30(3), rather than only on the market value of the land

4. What further amount remained payable after adjusting the amount already received by the petitioner

The Court applied Sections 26–30 of the RFCTLARR Act, 2013, under which the compensation computation includes the market value of the acquired land and the value of assets attached to it; solatium is then calculated on that compensation amount under Section 30(1).

The Court held that the additional amount/interest contemplated by Section 30(3) must be calculated on the market value of the land plus the value of attached assets, without adding solatium to that base.

Section 80 requires interest on compensation not paid or deposited before possession: 9% per annum for the first year and 15% per annum thereafter on the unpaid compensation.

The Court further interpreted “amount of such compensation” under Section 80 to include the total compensation payable, including solatium and the amount determined under Section 30(3).

The authorities’ enquiry established that 0.15 acres had been physically acquired and utilised for the thermal power project but had not initially been compensated due to a measurement mistake.

For the additional land, the Court accepted the land value of Rs. 2,85,000, applied the factor of two, and added Rs. 1,00,800 as the value of assets, producing a land-and-assets base of Rs. 6,70,800.

It then calculated the Section 30(3) amount at Rs. 2,83,941, without including solatium in the interest base, and added solatium of Rs. 6,70,800 to the land-and-assets amount.

For Section 80, the Court rejected both the petitioner’s and the State’s calculations: the petitioner had improperly calculated the statutory amount by including solatium in the Section 30(3) base, while the State had confined Section 80 interest to the bare market value of the land.

Since the full compensation had not been paid upon possession, the Court calculated Section 80 interest on Rs. 16,25,541, comprising compensation, solatium, and the Section 30(3) amount.

The total compensation was determined at Rs. 13,41,600, the Section 30(3) amount at Rs. 2,83,941, and Section 80 interest at Rs. 24,34,967, making a total of Rs. 40,60,508.

After adjusting the amount already treated as paid—Rs. 20,54,709—the District Land Acquisition Officer, Bhagalpur, was directed to pay Rs. 20,05,799 to the petitioner within two months.

If payment was not made within that period, the State would be liable to pay penal interest at 12% per annum on the payable amount from 7 April 2015 until payment.

The writ petition was accordingly allowed.