More than a decade after land was allegedly acquired for widening National Highway-48 between Surat and Dahisar, several villagers are still awaiting compensation, prompting the Bombay High Court to question how a public infrastructure project could proceed without completing the legal land acquisition process.
A division bench comprising Justice Manish Pitale and Justice Shreeram V. Shirsat was hearing a writ petition filed by Nira Anant Patil and other landowners against the State of Maharashtra and the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI). The petitioners alleged that their land was used around 2009-10 for the six-laning of the Surat-Dahisar stretch of National Highway-8, now known as NH-48. While the highway became operational between 2012 and 2014, they claimed the statutory process for assessing and paying compensation was never concluded.
During the hearing, the court referred to a communication dated March 26, 2013, submitted by the petitioners, which indicated that compensation had neither been determined nor disbursed despite the land already being used for the project.
The bench also expressed concern over a statement attributed to an NHAI officer in the same communication, which read, “regular acquisition was not acceptable.” The document further stated that the Vasai Tahsildar had instead urged NHAI to consider providing affected landowners an ex gratia payment on compassionate grounds.
Calling this approach “wholly unsustainable,” the court observed that authorities cannot replace the statutory land acquisition process with ex gratia payments once private land has been used for a public project. The bench further noted that the material placed before it prima facie indicated a possible violation of Article 300A of the Constitution, which protects individuals from being deprived of property except by authority of law.
The High Court directed both the State government and NHAI to file their reply affidavits by July 24, stating that no further extension would be granted. The matter is scheduled for further hearing, and likely final disposal, on August 4.
Source: Mumbai Mirror
