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The Centre is “fully competent” to notify “any land (not necessarily an existing road/highway) for acquisition, to construct a highway to be a national highway”, the Supreme Court dominated on Wednesday whereas upholding notifications issued underneath the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) Act, 1956, for acquisition of land for building of the eight-lane Chennai-Krishnagiri-Salem nationwide freeway.
The freeway is to be constructed as a part of the Bharatmala Pariyojna–Phase-I undertaking.
Allowing an attraction by NHAI and the Centre towards a Madras High Court judgment quashing the notifications, a bench of Justices A M Khanwilkar, B R Gavai and Krishna Murari stated that “there is nothing in the Constitution which constricts the power of Parliament to make a law for declaring any stretch/section within the State not being a road or an existing highway, to be a national highway”.
On the opposite hand, the court docket stated, “provisions in the Constitution unambiguously indicate that the legislative as well as executive power regarding all matters concerning and connected with a highway to be designated as a national highway, vests in Parliament, and the laws to be made by it in that regard. For the same reason, the complete executive power also vests within the Union.”
The Central authorities, the bench identified, “is free to assemble/construct anew nationwide freeway retaining in thoughts the obligations it has to discharge underneath Part IV of the Constitution for securing a social order and promotion of welfare of the individuals within the involved area, to supply them sufficient technique of livelihood, distribute materials sources as finest to subserve the frequent good, create new alternatives, in order to empower the individuals of that space together with provisioning new financial alternatives within the space by means of which the nationwide freeway would cross and the nation’s economic system as a complete.
“The availability of a highway in any part of the State paves way for sustainable development and for overall enhancement of human well-being, including to facilitate the inhabitants there to enjoy a decent quality of life, creation of assets (due to natural increase in market value of their properties) and to fulfil their aspirations of good life by provisioning access to newer and present-day opportunities.”
The undertaking had come underneath problem on grounds that the notification issued underneath Section 3(A) of the NHAI Act might solely have been accomplished after environmental clearance. It was additionally contended that the Centre couldn’t acquire open inexperienced fields for building of nationwide freeway, and that solely a preexisting state freeway may very well be declared as such.
The HC upheld the argument that prior environmental clearance was wanted for issuing the notification underneath Section 3(A) for the undertaking, 10 km of which is scheduled to cross by means of the forest area.
Overruling this, the SC stated the notification is just an expression of curiosity to acquire the designated land, and no prior environmental clearance was wanted earlier than issuing it.
© The Indian Express (P) Ltd
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