State expedites acquisition process, procures 80% land for NHAI projects

After facing backlash from the Centre, the Punjab Government has expedited the land acquisition for the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) projects across the state.

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The pace at which the land acquired for various major infrastructure projects was being procured (possession taken) could be gauged from the fact that an additional 113 acres of land has been provided to the NHAI for reviving 37 stalled highway projects over the past less than two months. With this, 80 per cent of the total acquired land has been procured in the state.

The development assumes significance as the Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways had recently warned the state of terminating the stalled NHAI projects in case the requisite land was not provided without any further delay.

Taking cognisance of the matter, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann recently reviewed the progress of the highway projects with the state’s top brass. Chief Secretary Anurag Verma told The Tribune that 112.98 acre land, almost 30 per cent of the pending 381.49 acres, has been procured and given to the NHAI for the ongoing 37 highway projects in the state since July 15.

“We have been able to do it by engaging with the protesting farmers and tactfully making them agree to part with the acquired land in public interest and overall development of their respective areas,” Verma said.

It is learnt that the official machinery resorted to the carrot and stick approach with the farmers by offering them enhanced compensation for their acquired land through arbitration and at the same time, telling them that the law would take its own course against those taking law into their hands.

He said the entire land for at least six separate packages of the Delhi-Amritsar-Katra expressway have been cleared by providing the entire land acquired for the 156.12-km stretch of the NHAI’s flagship project.

Similarly, only 1.92 km of 43.02 km land for expressway’s package-9, 7.42 km of 43.02 km for package-11, 6.7 km of 28.07 km for phase-1 spur-3, and 10.94 km of 35.09 km for package-8 was pending, the process to procure that was also in progress.

While 142.4 km of 1,087.04 km land acquired for 30 ongoing highway projects was yet to be procured, the proceedings to take over remaining 126.11 km of 255.81 km land acquired for seven pending NHAI schemes, of which appointed dates have not yet been fixed, were underway. In this way, 1,074.34 km, which is 80 per cent of 1,342.85 km land stretches acquired for 37 NHAI corridors has already been procured.