IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA CWJC No.13433 of 2010 Lal Bahadur Singh, son of Late Bisundeo Singh, village Akhtiyarpur Patera, PS Sarai, Block Bhagwanpur, District Vaishali – Petitioner. Vs. 1) The Union of India through the Secretary, Ministry of Road Transport and National Highway, Govt. of India, New Delhi. 2) The Secretary, Ministry of Road Transport and National Highway, Govt. of India, New Delhi. 3) National Highway Authority of India through its Chairman, Road Transport and National Highway Ministry, Govt. of India, New Delhi. 4) National Highway Authority Technical Cell/Planning through its Technical Advisor, Govt. of India. 5) Project Manager cum Joint Director, National Highway 77, Head Quarter at Hajipur, Vaishali. 6) The State of Bihar, 7) The Dist. Magistrate cum Dist. Land Acquisition Officer, Vaishali. 8) Dist. Land Acquisition Officer, Vaishali. 9) Sub-divisional Officer, Hajipur. 10) Circle Officer, Bhagwanpur Block, Dist. Vaishali – Respondents. 4 30.8.2010 Heard learned counsel for the parties. The National Highway Authority has acquired the lands for NH 77 from ‘0’ KM to 29.22 KMs on Hajipur – Muzaffarpur section by a gazette notification. The grievance of the petitioner is that on the western flank of the road, the National Highway has acquired 30 meters, whereas on the eastern flank they have acquired only 15 meters of lands. It is the stand of the petitioner that on the east side, the National Highway has sufficient lands and if such lands are utilized, they would not require to acquire 30 meters on the western flank of the road. It is further submitted that it would save huge sum for the National Highway which they will otherwise have to pay by way of award to the land holders. A public interest litigation being CWJC No. 2 17903/2009 was filed with a grievance that NH 77 going from Ram Ashish Chowk, Hajipur town to Muzaffarpur should not be widened into 4 Lane, rather, a proposed division from Paswan Chowk should be widened in place of NH 77. This court held that the petitioner’s case was guided by convenience and inconvenience of the nearby residents of both the locality, one near the existing NH 77 and the other near the proposed diversion. Considering all facts the court held that NH 77 has to maintain alignment according to the plans prepared for laying down NH 77 / widening it and as such dismissed the writ petition. The standard required by the National Highway has to be considered in the light of the plan laid down by them and, therefore, this court cannot give any positive direction that they should acquire lands on the east or west flank of the road. It is incumbent upon the National Highway to take into consideration the larger public interest and their requirements, while acquiring lands. Considering the aforesaid aspect this court cannot give any positive direction in favour of the petitioner. This writ petition is, thus, disposed o with the observation aforesaid haque ( Sheema Ali Khan, J.)