Budgam farmers await enhanced compensation for Ring Road land despite High Court directions

Srinagar, Feb 16: Even as the revenue authorities have issued a fresh award in compliance with directions of the Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh High Court for land acquired in Wathoora village of Chadoora for the Srinagar Semi Ring Road, the enhanced compensation has yet to be disbursed, the affected landowners said.

According to the order issued by the Collector Land Acquisitions, ACR Budgam, ìNearly 488 kanal (approximately 60 acres) of agricultural land in Wathoora was acquired in 2019 for the Ring Road project. While initial compensation was paid following a 2020 award, several landowners challenged the rates before the High Court, seeking reassessment. In judgments dated November 16, 2022, and September 2, 2025, the High Court set aside the final award insofar as it pertained to the petitioners and directed the Collector, Land Acquisition Budgam, to pass a fresh award.î

The court instructed that the date of the final award be treated as the relevant date for determining market value while applying the yardsticks under the Jammu and Kashmir Land Acquisition Act, Svt 1990.

It further directed that statutory benefits, including interest, be calculated from March 13, 2018, the date possession of the land was taken.

Special leave petitions (SLPs) filed by the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir before the Supreme Court were dismissed on December 1, 2023, and August 6, 2024, rendering the High Court judgment final.

Pursuant to the court directions, the Collector issued a fresh award ñ No DCB/LAS/2025-26/1127-29 on November 21, 2025.

The award pertains to writ petitions WP(C) No. 1274/2020 titled Gulzar Ahmad Akhoon and Others and WP(C) No 1726/2020 titled Abdul Salam Bhat and Ors versus UT of J&K and Others.

The land acquisition proceedings had originally been processed under the 1990 Act, with the Administrative Department, Revenue, a competent authority approving compensation at Rs 38 lakh per kanal for proprietary land measuring 211 Kanals and 9 Marlas (269 square feet) and Rs 32.76 lakh per kanal for Shamilat land measuring 21 Kanals and 7 Marlas (223 square feet), along with 15 percent Jabirana.

The final award was issued on August 11, 2020.

In the fresh award, the Collector adopted Rs 38 lakh per kanal as the base rate, inclusive of statutory benefits, 15 percent Jabirana, 6 percent interest for the first year (March 13, 2018, to March 13, 2019), and 10 percent interest thereafter until payment.

The order also adds that the 2020 stamp duty rate for irrigated agricultural land in the village was Rs 40.30 lakh per kanal and states that by adopting this rate, all prescribed yardsticks have been applied while determining market value.

The award further considers certain non-fruit-bearing tree cases that were authenticated but not previously awarded, as well as left-out land parcels forwarded by the Tehsildar, Chadoora, and subsequently authenticated by the NHAI Project Director.

Necessary corrigenda and addenda have been issued, and details of the concerned survey numbers have been tabulated as part of the order.

Despite the issuance of the fresh award in November 2025 and a formal request for over Rs 125 crore from NHAI to facilitate payment, the enhanced compensation, according to farmers, has not been released.

ìMore than three dozen affected families remain unpaid,î they said.

ìWe have a fresh award and court orders in our favour, but the payment has not been released,î said Nazir Ahmad, a landowner from Wathoora. ìWe handed over possession in 2018. It has been years, and we are still waiting.î

ìThe aggrieved landowners have been moving from one office to another for many years, seeking fair compensation.  They got some relief when the High Court granted a 20 percent enhancement in 2023. The award was prepared by the District Administration in November last year, but the NHAI has not released the compensation yet,î said Raja Muzaffar Bhat, a social activist from the area.

In December 2025, Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari said in a written reply that NHAI was coordinating with land acquisition authorities to ensure the timely disbursal of pending amounts.

However, affected families say the enhanced compensation has yet to reach them.

The 60.84-km Srinagar Ring Road, a flagship project under the Prime Ministerís Development Package for Jammu and Kashmir, is being executed in two phases.

The Phase I, spanning 42 km from Galander to Narbal, is nearing completion, while Phase II will cover the 18.84-km stretch from Narbal to Ganderbal.

Project Director NHAI Srinagar- Akashdeep Singh, however, said they are yet to receive the revised award from the revenue authorities.

ìOnce we get the award, we will issue the funds accordingly,î he said, adding he will still look into the issue.