Fair market value must match the actual interest transferred before Chapter XXA acquisition can be sustained.

For acquisition under Chapter XXA, the fair market value must be assessed with reference to the actual interest transferred, not the entire property. Where the transferors conveyed only a 30 per cent share, the Department could not apply the valuation mechanically to the whole asset without accounting for co-ownership, existing tenants, competing claims, and the impact of road expansion on marketability. On the material available, the fair market value of the transferred interest did not clearly exceed the apparent consideration by the statutory margin required to trigger acquisition, so the acquisition proceedings lacked foundation and the order was set aside.

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Issues: Whether the acquisition proceedings under Chapter XXA were sustainable when only the transferors' share in the property was transferred and the fair market value of that transferred interest did not exceed the apparent consideration by the statutory margin.

Analysis: The property was subject to competing claims, and the civil court compromise determined that the transferors held only a 30 per cent interest while the remaining interest belonged to other claimants. The valuation adopted by the Departmental Valuer could not be applied mechanically to the entire property without allowing for the limited interest actually conveyed, the co-ownership nature of the property, the presence of tenants, and the likelihood of road expansion affecting marketability. On the material available, the fair market value of the transferors' interest, even on the departmental valuation, did not clearly exceed the apparent consideration by the percentage required to attract the statutory conditions for acquisition. The proceedings under Chapter XXA therefore lacked the necessary foundation.

Conclusion: The acquisition order was not justified and was set aside in favour of the assessees.

Ratio Decidendi: For acquisition under Chapter XXA, the fair market value must be determined with reference to the actual interest transferred, and not the entire property, and the statutory threshold is not met unless that transferred interest is shown to be undervalued to the requisite extent.

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