ISLAMABAD: In 2006, the National Highway Authority (NHA) was mandated by the Supreme Court (SC) to pay compensation to the landowners from whom it had acquired the land for the Peshawar Road project. (Reported by news source)
NHA’s appeal of the Peshawar High Court’s ruling regarding compensation for land purchases was denied by the SC. The decision was made by a three-person SC bench under the direction of Chief Justice Umer Ata Bandial.
The Peshawar High Court’s order to raise the cost of land for the Peshawar-Muskat Highway from Rs. 35,000 to Rs. 70,000 per Marla was upheld by the Supreme Court. The authority now has to follow the SC’s decision or face legal action, albeit the court’s required response time is not yet established.
The plea to investigate the Rs. 2.25 billion graft issue was approved by the court.
DC Matiari received a release from NHA for Rs. 4.09 billion to buy highway land. A bank gave the accused Rs 1.82 billion in cash to buy land for a 70-kilometer motorway.
