The Odisha High Court on Thursday asked the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) to furnish all details pertaining to payment of compensation with respect to land acquisition for the under-construction Bhubaneswar-Puri four-lane road.
The order came from a HC Division Bench headed by Chief Justice Amitava Roy while adjudicating a PIl filed by social activist and advocate Nishikant Mishra. Mishra in his petition has alleged that the NHAI is not serious about completion of the 59-km road, which has jumped its deadline nine months ago.
Responding to an earlier notice of the High Court, the NHAI had told the court that the work was being delayed as there are High Court stay orders on acquisition of two plots which house certain religious structures. In an affidavit, the NHAI had stated that the requisite compensation amounts for the two plots have already been deposited with the Endowment Commission.
Following this disclosure by the NHAI, the HC Division Bench asked the NHAI to furnish all details about the payments pertaining to land acquisitions and posted the matter to be heard again next week.