Huda decides to move Supreme Court to vacate stay on NPR land acquisition

The Haryana Urban Development Authority (Huda) has decided to file a petition in the Supreme Court to vacate the stay granted by Punjab and Haryana High Court on land acquisition for the Northern Peripheral Road (NPR) project, popularly known as Dwarka Expressway, at New Palam Vihar.

Chander Shekhar Khare, administrator, Huda, Gurgaon, said, “We will move the Supreme Court soon. Huda needs to acquire land and transfer it to the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) to complete the remaining portion of the NPR project.”

The 18km portion of the NPR falling in Gurgaon, between the Delhi border and the National Highway near Kherki Daula, is incomplete. Work is stalled in a 1.4 km portion in New Palam Vihar and a 500 metre portion at Kherki Daula due to a litigation related to land acquisition. The Huda has completed 16.6 km of NPR and it handed over the project to the NHAI in October 2016. Now, the NPR has been extended to the National Highway near Shiv Murti, Mahipalpur, in New Delhi.

The NHAI has planned an elevated road on the NPR, between the Delhi border and the Basai flyover, and are waiting for the Huda to hand over land at New Palam Vihar and Kherki Daula at the earliest to finish the project.

Owners of plots earmarked for acquisition for the NPR project, moved High Court against the Huda in 2010-11 demanding compensation — plot against plot, compensation to construct new houses and adequate time to build new houses. The plot owners include original registry holders, as well as general and special power of attorney (GPA-SPA) holders. While the Huda has acknowledged the compensation claim of plot owners holding original registries, the SPA and GPA holders have obtained stay on their land from the high court, delaying the acquisition.

Read I Resolve NPR oustees’ issue on priority,high court tells Huda

“The GPA/SPA holders are to blame for the delay in land acquisition. We have asked our legal panel to file a petition in the Supreme Court. Huda wants the Supreme Court to vacate stay on land acquisition and grant time to resolve the compensation issue separately. Once the stay is vacated, the Huda will transfer land to the NHAI,” Sanjiv Singla, estate officer (EO), Huda, said.

The NPR oustees, the GPA/SPA holders who claim they don’t yet have a word of assurance from the Huda on compensation, have decided to protest the move.

Rishi Raj Rana, one of the oustees, said, “High Court had asked the Huda to compensate GPA plot holders, but it is dragging its feet in the matter. We will not allow it (the acquisition) to happen.”