The Punjab government on Wednesday told the high court that three land parcels, which were acquired for National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) projects but reclaimed by the owners earlier this month, have been restored to the highways’ authority.
Two of the land parcels are in Malerkotla (175 metres) and Sangrur (70 metres), which were acquired for the Delhi-Amritsar-Katra expressway, while the third is in Fazilka (1.77 km), acquired for the four-laning project of Abohar-Fazilka national highway section.
During the hearing before the bench of justice Sureshwar Thakur, where deputy commissioners (DCs) and senior superintendents of police (SSPs) of these districts were summoned, the Punjab government counsel told the court that possession has been restored to the NHAI; and ample security personnel have been deployed at these sites. The government also assured the court that it will make sincere efforts to acquire the remaining land for the projects being undertaken by the NHAI. A detailed order of Wednesday’s proceedings before the court is yet to be made available.
The details were given during the resumed hearing of a plea pending since 2023, when NHAI approached the court, alleging delay in the execution of infrastructure projects and resultant cost escalation as the local authorities were not being able to acquire land in the given time frame. In April, the high court had summoned DCs and SSPs of all districts in wake of the rising instances of land being reclaimed by owners in different parts of the state.
{{/usCountry}}The details were given during the resumed hearing of a plea pending since 2023, when NHAI approached the court, alleging delay in the execution of infrastructure projects and resultant cost escalation as the local authorities were not being able to acquire land in the given time frame. In April, the high court had summoned DCs and SSPs of all districts in wake of the rising instances of land being reclaimed by owners in different parts of the state.
{{/usCountry}}As per senior advocate and NHAI counsel Chetan Mittal, now approximately 16 km of land in the state is yet to be handed over to the NHAI for 36 infrastructure projects of the agency spanning through 1,288.31 km. In 2023, when the high court took the cognisance of the matter, the total pending possession of 36 projects was 399.35 km. Now, the hearing stands deferred for July 11 by which, the court has sought a fresh status report on land acquisition for these projects.