Rs 19317 Crores earmarked for land acquisition for National Highways in Punjab, 32% unutilized; Gadkari replies to MP Arora in Parliament 

Ludhiana, April 6, 2023: An amount of Rs 13281.03 Crore has been spent for land acquisition on National Highways in the state of Punjab by NHAI in the last five years. Rs. 6036.90 Crores is pending waiting for possession of land.

This has been stated by the Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Jairam Gadkari in reply to a question on land acquisition in Punjab asked by AAP MP (Rajya Sabha) from Ludhiana Sanjeev Arora.

In a statement here today, Arora said he had asked about the amount spent for land acquisition by Ministry under NHAI for Punjab in the last five years; and the fund earmarked for further acquisition for ongoing projects.

Arora said National Highways play a very important role in the economic and social development of the State by enabling efficient movement of freight and passengers and improving access to the market. Similarly, the importance of National Highways in the economic and social development of Punjab cannot be denied, he added. 

Arora, therefore, asked the Punjab farmers to cooperate with NHAI in smooth acquiring of lands for the National Highways projects. He admitted that some national highway projects in Punjab were getting delayed due to some issues in the land acquisition process. He said even Gadkari had pointed out this fact when he had gone to meet him to take up some city and state matters related to NHAI after taking over as MP.

Further, Arora said some farmers resist to give their land under misconception that they will get meagre compensation whereas the fact is that land for development of National Highways and associated purposes is acquired under Section 3 of The National Highways Act, 1956 and compensation is determined in accordance with the First Schedule of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (RFCTLARR) Act, 2013. 

Adding, Arora said RFCTLARR Act, 2013 is an Act of Indian Parliament which regulates land acquisition and lays down the procedure and rules for granting compensation, rehabilitation, and resettlement to the affected persons in India. He said farmers of the state must understand that further development of basic road infrastructure is a need of the hour in view of growing needs for transportation due to rise in economic and other activities.