How's Punjab Chief Secretary looking into 'antedated relief' for NH, asks HC

Saurabh Malik

Chandigarh, May 4

Around two years after the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) claimed that the travelling time between Delhi and Chandigarh would reduce to two hours with the coming up of a new expressway, it has moved the Punjab and Haryana High Court alleging 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 award, the NHAI alleged, was antedated.

Taking up the matter, a Division Bench of the High Court has 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”.

As the petition filed against the state and other respondents came up for preliminary hearing before the Bench of Justice Ritu Bahri and Justice Meenakshi Mehta, senior advocate Chetan Mittal with counsel Raghujeet Singh Madan 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 was awarded later.

Mittal added that the officer, who had announced the award dated September 30, 2021, relinquished the charge on October 28, 2021, from his 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 HC Bench that the Mohali DC’s stand in the matter was that the award under 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”.

The Bench has fixed the case for further hearing next week after the state counsel sought more time to get the instructions.