Decision on NPR oustees’ issue after Diwali: Huda

The Punjab and Haryana high court will pronounce its final verdict on the NPR oustees on October 23

The Haryana urban development authority (Huda) said Punjab and Haryana high court will pronounce the final verdict on the issue concerning the NPR oustees after Diwali. The hearing on a plea filed by the evictees is complete and all eyes are now on the court.

Touted as a key infrastructure project in Gurgaon, the NPR project has seen several deadline misses. (Parveen Kumar/HT FILE)

The court will pronounce its judgment on October 23. It is hoped that the court judgment will pave the way for the resolution of the prickly issue that has been holding up construction of the Northern Peripheral Road (NPR), also known as Dwarka Expressway, which is touted as Gurgaon’s lifeline.

The oustees, over time, have filed cases at multiple courts against the Huda, voicing displeasure over the compensation package in the event of acquisition of their lands for various road projects across the city.

The NPR, now under the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), is one of the major infrastructure projects of Gurgaon that has been mired in litigations for the last five years. A portion of road less than 2km is incomplete, as the oustees moved court against the Huda.

Earlier, on September 18, the high court had merged all cases of oustees whose lands were acquired by the Huda in Gurgaon for development of roads and sectors over the last five six years.

Read I Gurgaon: Jinxed Dwarka Expressway project hits fresh hurdle

According to a top Huda official, more than 1,000 oustees had moved high court seeking judicial intervention on various grounds.

Besides NPR, other road projects such as Southern Peripheral Road (SPR) and the Central Peripheral Road (CPR) projects all stuck in litigation delaying their completion.

According to Huda, oustees are liable for compensation only if they are bonafide land purchasers. This means that only the owners having the original land deed papers, as opposed to general or special power of attorney, will be considered for compensation. However, most of the oustees who moved courts are SPA and GPA holders.