Hitches in land acquisition delay highway projects worth Rs 31,000 cr in Punjab

Tribune News Service

Vijay C Roy

Chandigarh, January 5

As many as 23 national highway projects in Punjab worth Rs 31,000 crore have run into delays owing to various reasons.

Of the total, 16 projects estimated to be worth Rs 21,000 crore are facing delay in execution despite agreements having been signed with the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) and concessionaires.

Rs 1.33-cr loss daily at toll plazas

• NHAI is incurring a loss of Rs 1.33 crore daily due to the ongoing protest by farmers who have shut down 13 toll plazas in 6 districts
• The toll plazas have been non-operational since Dec 15. Alka Upadhyaya, Secretary, Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, wrote a letter to the Chief Secretary, seeking his intervention
• The Secretary also sought strict directions to officials concerned to take action against the farmers’ unions to resolve the issue

Reason being: hitches in the land acquisition process and delay in handing over the possession of the land by the state government to the highway authority, said an NHAI official. These projects are facing delays varying from two months to 19 months.

According to norms, the NHAI gives an appointed date or official date for the road developer to start the work once the land is in its possession.

However, in these 16 projects, the authority failed to provide this date as land was not in possession with it. Normally, the state government acquires the land on behalf of NHAI which funds the cost of acquisition.

In some cases, compensation has already been awarded to farmers for the acquisition of land whereas in some cases the land is yet to be acquired.

According to insiders, stiff resistance of farmers to give their land and allegations of meagre compensation are delaying the acquisition proceedings.

For example, in November, Bharti Kisan Union (Ekta-Ugrahan) and Sadak Sangharsh Committee staged a dharna at Chhapar and Dhulkot villages in Ludhiana to oppose the acquisition of land for the construction of the Delhi-Amritsar-Katra Expressway.

Office-bearers and activists of BKU (Ekta-Ugrahan), led by its district general secretary Saudagar Singh Ghudani, said they would not allow any government or non-government agency to acquire even an inch of land belonging to farmers of the region until the owners were given adequate compensation.

Similarly in August and July, farmers had protested against the land acquisition.

Among the worst-hit projects include a 62-km stretch from Amritsar-Bathinda section (six-lane) being constructed at a cost of Rs 2,120 crore, 35 km Delhi-Amritsar-Katra Expressway (Phase I) with a sanctioned cost of Rs 1,967 crore.

The other key projects running behind the schedule include the six-laning of the Jodhpur-Romana (Bathinda)-Mandi Dabwali section of NH- 54 and other packages of the Delhi-Amritsar-Katra Expressway.

Further, facing delay in existing projects, the NHAI has decided to go slow on remaining seven projects worth Rs 10,000 crore, despite DPR being ready and it is yet to award the contract, said the official.

About The Author

Tribune News Service

The Tribune News Service brings you the latest news, analysis and insights from the region, India and around the world. Follow the Tribune News Service for a wide-ranging coverage of events as they unfold, with perspective and clarity.

Join Whatsapp Channel of The Tribune for latest updates.