High Court orders status quo on toll plaza construction near Fazilka

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has ordered status quo on the construction of a toll plaza on National Highway-7 on Abohar road on the outskirts of Fazilka town.

A local resident, Ranjana Gupta, whose land falls near the proposed toll plaza site, had filed a petition in the court stating that the toll plaza was being constructed about 4.5 km from the Municipal Council limits in violation of norms. The norms prohibit the construction of a toll plaza within 5 km of a municipal boundary. The Municipal Council as well as the gram panchayat of the village where the toll plaza is being constructed had also raised objections.

Official sources said that a toll plaza cannot ordinarily be established within 5 km of a municipal area unless there is a compelling necessity.

A Division Bench comprising Justice Alka Sarin and Justice Ramesh Chander Dimri observed that no reason had been communicated for establishing the toll plaza within 5 km. The court, therefore, granted status quo and fixed July 22 as the next date of hearing.

The Municipal Council, in a letter dated May 29, 2025, addressed to the Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, had also sought a review of the decision and demanded relocation of the toll plaza being constructed at Beganwali village on Abohar road.

“The council had pleaded that the toll plaza should be located at least 10 km away from the municipal limits as it could impede the city’s development and adversely impact local development plans,” said Surinder Kumar Sachdeva, the then president of the council.

Besides this, the gram panchayat of Beganwali village, where the toll plaza is being set up, had also written to the Chairman of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), expressing serious road safety concerns over the location of the toll plaza.

Notably, most of the construction of the plaza has been completed.