E-Paper
HC grants Punjab two weeks to handover land
The Punjab and Haryana high court has asked the DGP in case there is any obstruction in taking possession of the land, he would provide all the logistic assistance, to ensure that the acquisition takes place and the land is handed over to NHAI
The Punjab and Haryana high court has directed the Punjab government to provide the requisite land within two weeks for the infrastructure projects of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) in Punjab.
The high court bench of justice Sureshwar Thakur and justice Kuldeep Tiwari sought an affidavit from the state’s chief secretary, regarding the under construction or where the construction is yet to begin, legal rights free possession of land delivery to the NHAI and has posted the matter for hearing again on September 6. The order was passed on August 23 and the detailed order has been made public now.
The court was hearing a plea filed by NHAI in July this year, alleging that state authorities have failed to provide security to its staff and contractors as directed last year. As a result, few contracts have been cancelled and NHAI has been forced to pay 1% of the cost of the contract to the contractor on account of termination due to unavailability of the land acquired for which even awards have been passed and compensation has already been deposited. Fifty instances have been reported, where the award has been passed and an amount of ₹4,104 crore has been deposited, but, the award has not been released to the land owners, NHAI had told the court seeking its intervention.
As per the NHAI, it needed security for taking physical possession of land of about 320 km in 38 national highway infrastructure projects in the state to ensure that the land could be delivered to the concessionaire (contractor) for the timely completion of the projects of public importance. It also sought directions so that as many as ₹3,699 crore, which is lying deposited with concerned land acquisition officers in various districts, be disbursed and NHAI can take possession of the land. The plea also stated that a slew of directions with regard to land acquisition was issued by the court last year. however, the same has not been complied with by the authorities.
On August 9, when the fresh plea was taken up, the court had taken a serious view of the matter and had sought the chief secretary’s affidavit by August 23. When the matter was taken up on August 23, Punjab sought two weeks to comply with the order, which has been granted now by the court. The court also asked the DGP in case there is any obstruction in taking possession of the land, he would provide all the logistic assistance, to ensure that the acquisition takes place and is handed over to NHAI. The court has also sought an affidavit of the DGP on the issue for September 6, when the matter is to be taken up again.
