"Punjab and Haryana High Court Rejects Stay on Development of Punjab Section of Delhi-Katra Expressway"
In a recent ruling, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has dismissed the plea to halt the development of the Punjab segment of the Delhi-Katra Expressway. The bench, comprising Justices Lisa Gill and Ritu Tagore, found no merit in granting interim relief to 127 petitioners who argued that their properties were being demolished without appropriate compensation.
The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) countered the petitioners' claims, presenting satellite images to demonstrate that only one petitioner's house fell within the project's alignment. The NHAI clarified that the primary structure of the house was located outside the alignment, with only the boundary wall affected. They also stated that a supplementary award had been issued for the boundary wall, and the petitioners had not made any claims regarding other structures such as tube wells or bore wells.
The petitioners, unaware of the supplementary award and alleging lack of compensation, sought to challenge the land acquisition process itself. However, the High Court refused to grant interim relief to halt the project, stating that there were no grounds to impede the "Development of Punjab Section of Delhi-Katra Expressway, including green field connectivity to Amritsar."
The case is scheduled for the next hearing on July 10. The respondents were represented by Additional Advocate General Sandeep Jain, Senior Advocate Chetan Mittal, and advocates Abhilaksh Gaind, Rakesh Roy, and Mayank Aggarwal. Advocate CS Bagri represented the petitioners.
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TAGS: Punjab and Haryana High Court development Punjab section Delhi-Katra Expressway refusal stay bench petitioners houses structures demolition supplementary award National Highways Authority of India NHAI misleading factual position satellite images alignment boundary wall interim relief scuttle project Amritsar next hearing July 10 respondents advocates land acquisition compensation.
