Our History

The Appeals Board is created and governed by the Land Acquisition Act, 1966. Section 19(1) states:

“For the purpose of hearing appeals in respect of any award made by the Collector under this Act, there shall be constituted one or more Appeals Boards consisting of a Commissioner of Appeals or a Deputy Commissioner of Appeals, either sitting alone or with two assessors in the manner provided by section 26.”

The Act came into force on 17 June 1967, and the first two Commissioners of Appeals, the first Registrar of the Board and the first Panel of Assessors were appointed with effect from that day.

Rationale for creation of Appeals Board
In moving the second reading of the Bill, the Minister for Law and National Development, Mr. E.W. Barker said:
“…[T]he move to take appeals away from the Courts and place them in the hands of an Appeals Board or tribunal is in conformity with prevailing trends elsewhere in the world of entrusting matters of specialist evaluation to Administrative Tribunals where persons with the requisite expertise can deal with issues involving subjects with which they are themselves familiar. Furthermore, procedures before such tribunals are less formal, less expensive, more expeditious and, perhaps, more satisfactory.”