SHC seeks details of compensation payable to private parties hit by Karachi-Hyderabad motorway

The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Wednesday directed the Sindh government and National Highway Authority (NHA) to file a joint statement about the amount of compensation, if any, payable to private allottees of land whose land was taken over for the construction of the Karachi-Hyderabad motorway.

The direction came on the NHA and others’ petitions about the right of way (ROW) and other related issues regarding the construction of the Karachi-Hyderabad motorway. The SHC’s constitutional bench headed by Justice Mohammad Karim Khan Agha observed that identical petitions had been filed on numerous issues pertaining to the construction of the motorway.

The high court observed that it wanted to deal with each issue one by one in turn in order to avoid confusion. The SHC observed that at first, it would take up the question of any compensation which might be payable either by the NHA or the government of Sindh in respect of land of private landowners whose land was taken over to construct the project.

The court directed the NHA and Sindh government to consider how much compensation, if any, was to be paid to any of the petitioners whose land was taken over for the purpose of the project, and file a joint statement with regard to amount of compensation and details of the persons entitled for compensation.

It is pertinent to mention that the SHC had earlier directed the NHA chairman to ensure that the feasibility study for the new motorway project from Karachi to Hyderabad was conducted within three months and its report was sent to the relevant quarters for approval.

Regarding the controversy and reduction of the ROW, the high court had directed both the Sindh and federal governments to constitute a committee and resolve the controversy, including compensation, within three months.

The bench had said the motorway construction company SCORE should continue its mandate for the rest of the period, as it had already enjoyed collecting taxes/fees for half of the period, though the road could not be called or considered a motorway in the actual and true sense of the word.

The NHA had sought the ROW and mutation of over 7,641 acres in its favour on the Super Highway and the National Highway under the NHA Act, 1991. The Sindh government had earlier withdrawn a notification and reduced the limits of the ROW provisional legislation. The high court had said that multiple litigation were the main cause of the conversion of the already existing road into a motorway.