As the ASI neither challenged the order nor paid the compensation, the land owners went to court again for early payment. As the payment was not made, the court issued an attachment order, arguably for the first time in the history of the Survey, on May 3. Later, the local ASI office wrote to the concerned special land acquisition of the district officer to seek his opinion to challenge the order but received no reply. While the matter was under consideration at higher levels and with the Ministry of Culture, the ASI’s Rajkot Circle sought 25 days’ time from the court, effectively halting the attachment proceedings.“The matter is still under consideration. Decisions will be taken well in time,” said Joint Director General (monument) and spokesperson of ASI Nandini Bhattacharya Sahu. Meanwhile, sources said that the Integrated Finance Division (IFD) had already rejected the request of higher compensation because of the steep hike, and asked the ASI to take legal opinion and also fix responsibility for not challenging the order.As the ASI didn’t act, the court officials visited the circle office on June 10 but left after speaking with the D-G over phone, granting 15 more days for release of compensation.
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