The National Highway Authority (NHA) has secured a major legal victory in the Federal Constitutional Court of Pakistan, saving the national treasury trillions of rupees.
The court ruled in favor of NHA in a long-standing land compensation case (Civil Review No. 95 & 96/2010: Chairman NHA vs. Amir Khan Afridi etc.).
The judgment clarifies that landowners who did not go to court cannot claim the higher compensation rates awarded to those who did, said a press release issued on Thursday
This decision changes a 2010 ruling. The issue began in 2007 when a landowner from Nowshera, Amir Afridi, successfully asked the court for higher land payment rates that had been given to other landowners in separate court cases.
That earlier decision led to over 300 similar lawsuits on the M-1 Highway project alone, as non-litigating landowners demanded billions of rupees in extra payments.
By winning this review petition, NHA has put an end to unnecessary lawsuits and prevented massive financial losses for the government.
The ruling protects not only NHA but all federal and provincial government departments involved in acquiring land for public projects.
