Page No. 1/5 GAHC010247902024 2025:GAU-AS:3474 THE GAUHATI HIGH COURT (HIGH COURT OF ASSAM, NAGALAND, MIZORAM AND ARUNACHAL PRADESH) Case No. : WP(C)/6287/2024 HUSSAIN AHMED CHOUDHURY S/O- LATE MASADDAR ALI CHOUDHURY, VILL. TARINIPUR PART-I, P.O.- GOVINDAPUR (WEST), P.S.- KATIGORAH, DIST.- CACHAR, ASSAM, PIN- 788804. VERSUS THE UNION OF INDIA AND 7 ORS. REPRESENTED BY THE SECRETARY, MINISTRY OF ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS, TRANSPORT BHAWAN, 1, PARLIAMENT STREET, NEW DELHI- 110001. 2:THE STATE OF ASSAM REPRESENTED BY THE COMMISSIONER AND SECRETARY TO THE GOVT. OF ASSAM DEPARTMENT OF P.W.D. (BUILDING AND NATIONAL HIGHWAY) ASSAM DISPUR GUWAHATI-6. 3:NATIONAL HIGHWAYS AND INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION (NHIDCL) MINISTRY OF ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS GOVT. OF INDIA 1ST AND 2ND FLOOR WORLD TRADE CENTRE NAROJI NAGAR NEW DELHI- 110029. Page No. 2/5 4:COMPETENT AUTHORITY OF LAND ACQUISITION NHIDCL CUM ADDL. DISTRICT COMMISSIONER CACHAR SILCHAR DIST.- CACHAR ASSAM PIN- 788001. 5:THE DISTRICT COMMISSIONER CACHAR P.O. AND P.S.- SILCHAR DIST.- CACHAR ASSAM PIN- 788001. 6:THE GENERAL MANAGER NATIONAL HIGHWAYS AND INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT (NHIDCL) SILCHAR PMU. 7:THE SUB-DIVISIONAL OFFICER (S) SILCHAR AND BRANCH OFFICER L.A. BRANCH P.O. AND P.S.- SILCHAR DIST.- CACHAR ASSAM PIN- 788001. 8:THE CIRCLE OFFICER CUM ASSTT. SETTLEMENT OFFICER KATIGORAH REVENUE CIRCLE CACHAR Advocate for the Petitioner : MR. A S TAPADER, SC, NHIDC,MR. H A LASKAR,MR. S B LASKAR,MR M AHMED Advocate for the Respondent : DY.S.G.I., MRS. V L SINGH,SC, PWD,GA, ASSAM BEFORE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE MANISH CHOUDHURY ORDER Date : 24.03.2025 Heard Mr. H.A. Laskar, learned counsel for the petitioner; Ms. S. Sarma, learned Standing Counsel, PWD for the respondent no. 2; Mr. C. Agarwal, learned counsel Page No. 3/5 representing Ms. V.L. Singh, learned Standing Counsel, NHIDCL for the respondent nos. 3 & 6; and Mr. H. Sarma, learned Junior Government Advocate, Assam for the respondent nos. 4, 5, 7 & 8. 2. The Central Government in the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has initiated a process of land acquisition for a National Highway project, namely, ‘Building [Widening/two lane with paved shoulder/four laning etc.], maintenance, management and operation of NH37 in the stretch of land from Km 18+000 to Km 24+700 in the district of Cachar in the State of Assam’ [‘the Highway Project’, for short], with issuance of Notifications under the provisions of the National Highways Act, 1956 [‘the N.H. Act’]. 3. 3. The petitioner has stated that in the process of acquisition, the following parcels of land, belonging to the petitioner and his siblings, have came to be acquired :- Total area of land in survey No. 250, 251 and 281 as per the Notification dated 01.12.2022 Quantum of acquired land belonging to the petitioner and his siblings as per the Notification dated 18.07.2023 Sl. no. 20, Survey/Plot no. 250 : Area 0.2172 Ha Sl. No. 490, Survey no. 250 : Area 0.1205 Ha Sl. No. 21, Survey/Plot no. 251 : Area 0.2628 Sl. No. 492, Survey no. 251 : 0.1857 Ha Sl. No. 24, Survey no. 281 Area 0.3816 Ha Sl. no. 497, Survey no. 281 0.1548 Ha Total surveyed land : 0.8616 Ha [3.41 Bighas] Total 0.461 Ha [1.82 Bighas] 4. It is the case of the petitioner that the Competent Authority, Land Acquisition [CALA], appointed under Section 3[a] of the N.H. Act, has already determined the compensation amounts under Section 3G[1] of the N.H. Act. It is the grievance of the petitioner that the Competent Authority, Land Acquisition [CALA] while determining the compensation amounts for the parcels of land, belonging to the petitioner and his family, has not taken the relevant factors into account. It is the further contention of the petitioner that the market value of the Page No. 4/5 parcels of land brought under acquisition were taken at a lesser amount resulting in an inadequate amount of compensation. 5. Ms. Sarma, learned Standing Counsel, PWD and Mr. Sarma, learned Junior Government Advocate, Assam have submitted that by an Order dated 06.03.2025, an Arbitrator under Section 3G[5] of the N.H. Act, 1956 has already been appointed for deciding any application in respect of the Highway Project in question and since the petitioner’s grievance is limited to inadequate amount of compensation, the Arbitrator so appointed can decide an application, for enhancement of the compensation amount, if such an application is preferred. 6. Mr. Laskar, learned counsel for the petitioner has submitted that the Competent Authority, Land Acquisition [CALA] has already passed an Award under Section 3G[1] the N.H. Act. The petitioner being dissatisfied with the amount of compensation determined by the Competent Authority, Land Acquisition [CALA] in his Award passed under Section 3G[1] of the N.H. Act, intends to prefer an application seeking enhancement of compensation amount determined by the Competent Authority, Land Acquisition [CALA] before the Arbitrator appointed under Section 3G[5] of the N.H. Act. 7. A copy of the Order dated 06.03.2025 is placed before this Court. From the Order dated 06.03.2025, issued under the hand of the Principal Secretary to the Government of Assam, Revenue & Disaster Management Department, it is noticed that the present Secretary to the Government of Assam, Revenue & Disaster Management Department [Smti. Meenakshi Das Nath] has been appointed as an Arbitrator in terms of sub-section [5] of Section 3G of the N.H. Act with immediate effect and until further order. 8. As the grievance regarding inadequacy of the compensation amount determined by the Competent Authority, Land Acquisition [CALA] raised by the petitioner in this writ petition, can be examined and considered by the Arbitrator so appointed under Section 3G[5] of the N.H. Act, this Court is of the considered view that the petitioner shall approach the Arbitrator by submitting an application along with all the supporting documents in support of its claim for enhancement of the compensation amount before the Arbitrator at the earliest. It is Page No. 5/5 accordingly observed. It is further observed that in the event any such application is preferred by the petitioner before the Arbitrator so appointed, the Arbitrator shall consider and dispose of the application as expeditiously as possible. The official respondents who are in custody and possession of the relevant records of land acquisition in respect of the subject-plot[s] belonging to the petitioner and for the Highway Project under reference, shall transmit the relevant records to the office of the Arbitrator so as to facilitate the Arbitrator to dispose of the application by taking into consideration the factors delineated in sub-section [7] of Section 3G and following the procedure mentioned in sub-section [6] of Section 3G of the N.H. Act in an expeditious manner. 9. With the observations made and the direction given above, the writ petition is disposed of. There shall, however, be no order as to cost. JUDGE Comparing Assistant