Northern Bypass in Peshawar: Court directs NHA to pay landowners Rs300,000 per marla

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court has directed the National Highway Authority (NHA) to pay Rs300,000 per marla to the landowners of Northern Bypass.

The landowners had refused and challenged the government rate of Rs40,000 per marla land. The government had developed Northern Bypass on an area of more than 79 kanals land situated in Mauza Kukar in Peshawar district.

In a detailed judgment, a division bench headed by Chief Justice Yahya Afridi not only dismissed appeal of the NHA against the Referee Court that had enhanced rate from Rs40,000 to Rs1,00,000 but also allowed appeals of the landowners for enhanced rate as per market price of the land. "The compensation for the acquired property in the adjoining mauza for the present project has been adjudged at Rs300,000 per marla, with 15 per cent compulsory acquisition charges and 6 per cent simple interest from the date of acquisition till final payment," the judgment stated.

The appeals had been filed by Saleem Dad and other landowners, represented by their lawyer Ziaur Rehman Khan. "We reviewed the findings of the Referee Court in rejecting the claim of the landowners with regard to mutation NOs 4369 and 4371; the same are based on valid reasons, as the two transactions clearly appear to have taken place between the families of the buyers and the sellers, and that too immediately before the notification under section 4 of the Land Acquisition Act. The said transaction appears to be 'tailored'," the court said.

It said the Referee Court has only taken into consideration the market value of the acquired property at the time of its notification under section-4 of the Act, without appreciating the prospective 17 utility of the acquired land and the sale transactions of the surrounding areas.