Land dispute erupts on highway, man tries to build wall across road

In a dramatic protest over alleged inadequate compensation for acquired land, a resident of Pehowa attempted to block the Kurukshetra-Pehowa state highway by constructing a wall on Tuesday.

Balwinder Singh, accompanied by family members and labourers, began building the wall with bricks on the highway, disrupting traffic flow. Vehicles were diverted through nearby fields until officials intervened.

Advocate Mithun Attri, representing Balwinder, said the family owned 22 marlas of land. “In 2010, it was found that the highway would pass through their property. A case was filed, and in 2013 the Pehowa court ordered the government to either compensate them or return the land. No action was taken,” he said.

“In 2014, an execution petition was filed. In 2018, the court gave possession of the land to the family, but only partial compensation was released. The government then approached the Punjab and Haryana High Court, which dismissed the appeal in 2023. A similar protest happened then, but the SDM assured rightful compensation,” he added.

The government’s latest appeal in a sessions court was also dismissed recently. Attri said, “If justice is not served, we will move the high court again.”

Balwinder Singh said, “The government must either pay the market value or return our land and shift the road.”

Police detained four people during the protest. Pehowa DSP Nirmal Kumar said, “We were informed that a wall was being built on the highway. Officials from PWD (B&R) spoke with the family and cleared the road.”

Rishi Sachdeva, Executive Engineer, PWD (B&R), said, “The person had earlier received Rs 5.5 lakh compensation but was not satisfied. As per court orders, further compensation was due. Though the court recently dismissed the case, we assured the family that rightful compensation will be given.”