Government to chargesheet officer in NHAI 'antedated' award case
Chandigarh, May 12
Less than 10 days after the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) alleged that a compensation of Rs 1,185 crore was awarded for land acquisition even though the amount earlier assessed was Rs 922 crore for a stretch on the expressway, the Punjab and Haryana High Court was told that a decision has been taken by the government to issue chargesheet against the officer concerned.
The NHAI had earlier alleged that the award was antedated, after which a Division Bench had asked the counsel for the State of Punjab to assist “as to how the Chief Secretary is looking into this issue, keeping in view the impugned award as per the petitioners is antedated”.
The developments took place on a petition filed against the state and other respondents before the Bench of Justice Ritu Bahri and Justice Meenakshi I Mehta. Senior advocate Chetan Mittal with counsel Raghujeet Singh Madan had earlier submitted that the NHAI’s grievance was that the “competent authority” had earlier assessed the compensation as Rs 922 crore. But Rs 1,185 crore compensation was awarded as per the award dated September 30, 2021.
Mittal had added that the officer, who had announced the award dated September 30, 2021, relinquished the charge on October 28, 2021, from his present posting at Mohali. The award emailed on October 29, 2021, was antedated as September 30, 2021.
Referring to the minutes of a meeting dated October 29, 2021, Mittal told the Bench that the Mohali Deputy Commissioner’s stand in the matter was that the award under the provisions of the National Highways Act “with respect to Memmadpur-Banur-Kharar six-lane Greenfield Ambala-Chandigarh expressway” would be finalised by November 15, 2021.
As such, the award dated September 30, 2021, could not be passed “keeping in view that in the meeting dated October 29, 2021, a specific observation was made that the Deputy Commissioner was to finalise the award by November 15, 2021. For all intents and purposes, on October 29, 2021, the award had not been finalised”.
