Ensure NHAI gets encumbrance-free land: HC to Punjab

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has directed deputy commissioners (DCs) and senior superintendents of police (SSPs) across the state to ensure the handing over of encumbrance-free land to the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) within specific timeframes, following discrepancies in data and unsatisfactory explanations regarding delay in possession.

The directions by the Bench of Justice Sureshwar Thakur and Justice Vikas Suri came in a case where the NHAI, through senior advocate Chetan Mittal, was seeking the possession of the acquired land for the NH projects.

Among other things, Mittal contended that 136.67 km, out of the 1,288.31 km of the sanctioned highways, remained pending due to the non-handing over of the land by the state.

Taking up the matter, the High Court expressed the hope that the NHAI would now receive the possession of all pending land tracts, enabling the construction of key infrastructure projects, including the Delhi-Katra Expressway and its spur connecting to the Golden Temple in Amritsar.

The court had earlier summoned the DCs and SSPs concerned after finding inconsistencies between the affidavits filed by the Regional Officer of the NHAI and Punjab Chief Secretary, who stated that only 88.39 km was pending.

The state had attributed the delay to protests by kisan unions and re-possession attempts by landowners, which the court found unsatisfactory.

During the resumed hearing, the court recorded the oral undertakings given by the DCs before directing them to hand over the encumbrance-free land within a defined period.