Early Times Report
Srinagar, Feb 29: The Jammu and Kashmir High Court has directed Collector Land Acquisition to ensure that prompt steps are taken to ensure completion of the road widening from Dalgate to Hazratbal Srinagar.
As the hearing of a PIL started before a division bench headed by Chief Justice Gita Mittal, government counsel referred to a status report by Chief Engineer PWD (R&B) Kashmir, pointing out substantial steps already achieved in the widening of the road from Dalgate to Zakura.
It also referred to certain impediments including the one that there is difficulty in the land acquisition regarding certain structures. “The Collector, Land Acquisition shall ensure that prompt steps be taken to ensure completion of the project,” the division bench also comprising Justice Dhiraj Singh Thakur said.
“The Finance Department shall also examine difficulties being faced in the acquisition process for want of adequate funds and ensure that the needful is done,” the court said and ordered that a status report shall be placed before it before the next date of hearing on May 13.
On one of the previous hearings, the court had directed authorities to seek expeditious disposal of the cases related to land acquisition coming in way of road widening from Dalgate to Hazratbal Srinagar.
The court had passed the orders after Deputy Commissioner Srinagar submitted that there are several cases pending before the courts, a majority of them relate to the amount of compensation. In few cases, he had said, there are disputes which inter-se the owners, family disputes, partnership disputes pending before the courts. In other cases, he said there are orders of status quo.
The official respondents shall move appropriate application(s) seeking expedient disposal of all these cases so as to ensure that process of acquisition is expeditiously completed and the project of road widening is not delayed any further, the court had said.”
The court had directed Chief Engineer, PWD (R&B) Kashmir to set-out the dates with time lines with regard to all the matters including approval of the proposal of road widening from Dalgate to Hazratbal Srinagar. |
