Lok Sabha Question No. 6339 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-04-02
Subject: Compensation for Land Acquisition under Bharatmala Pariyojana
Ministry: ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS
Asked by: Shri Karti P Chidambaram

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS

LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 6339 ANSWERED ON 02 ND  APRIL, 2026

## COMPENSATION FOR LAND ACQUISITION UNDER BHARATMALA PARIYOJANA

6339. SHRI KARTI P CHIDAMBARAM:

Will the Minister of ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS सड़क परिवहन औि िाजमार्ग मंत्री

be pleased to state:

- (a)  the  total  land  required  and  land  acquired  for  projects  under Bharatmala  Pariyojana  since 2017  as  on  date,  State-wise  and project-wise;
- (b)  the  total  compensation  assessed  and  disbursed  for  such  land
- acquisition, State-wise and year-wise;
- (c)  the  number of cases where compensation or rehabilitation and resettlement  payments remain  pending  beyond  statutory  timelines under  the  Right  to  Fair  Compensation  and Transparency  in  Land Acquisition Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013; and
- (d)  whether  any  review  has  been  conducted  on  cost  escalation  in bharatmala  projects  due  to delays  in  land  acquisition  and  the project-wise extent of such escalation thereof?

## ANSWER

THE MINISTER OF ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS (SHRI NITIN JAIRAM GADKARI)

(a) to (c) The  process  for  land  acquisition  for  National  Highway (NH) projects are governed as per NH Act, 1956 and compensation is  determined as per provisions of Right to Fair Compensation and

Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (RFCTLARR)  Act,  2013,  as  made  applicable  by  Government.  The acquisition  of  land  for  National  Highway  projects  is  a  continuous process and the Competent Authority for Land Acquisition (CALA), notified  under Section 3(a) of NH Act, 1956, is responsible for the payment  of compensation.  Further, there remains  a time lag between award and disbursement, due to various reasons including disputes in ownership of the land, discrepancy in revenue records, unwillingness of the beneficiary to receive the disbursement/payment  due  to  disputes  on  compensation  etc. The State  wise  details  of  land  acquired  under  Bharatmala  Pariyojana during last 05 years by National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) are annexed.

(d) Currently,  as  per  the  available  data,  85  under  construction National Highways (NHs) projects including projects under Bharatmala  Pariyojana  are  delayed  by  more  than  three  years, attributable to various issues such as, bottlenecks relating to land acquisition, statutory clearances  / permissions,  utility shifting, encroachment removal, law & order issues, financial crunch affecting  implementation  capacity  of  concessionaire  /  contractor, poor performance of contractor / concessionaire, and Force Majeure events such as Covid-19 pandemic, Change of Law, etc.

The Government has undertaken various initiatives to prevent recurrence of delays and cost escalations. These include streamlining  and  expediting  land  acquisition  and  compensation using 'BhoomiRashi' portal integrated with Public Finance Management System (PFMS) and GIS-based Land Acquisition Plan, revamping 'Parivesh' Portal, to facilitate faster forest and environmental  clearances,  enabling  online  approval  of  General Arrangement  of  Drawings  (GAD)  of  Road  Over  Bridge/  Road  Under Bridge  (ROB/  RUB),  and  leveraging  the  mechanism  of  review  and resolution of bottlenecks / hindrances in ongoing projects, in active collaboration  with  the  State  Governments  and  other  stakeholders. Government  has  also  launched  a  web  portal  for  Railway  related clearances with defined timelines for various approvals.

The  Government  has  put  in  place  a  strong  framework  using multiple mechanisms for monitoring project progress and contractor inefficiencies.  Regular  review  meetings  are  conducted  at  various levels  with  stakeholders  to  assess  project  progress,  and  critical projects, such as those delayed by more than three years or pending for  award/  appointment.  Cost  escalation  is  not  incurred  in  all delayed  projects.  If  delay  is  not  attributable  to  the  Contractor, escalation is paid as per contract conditions, which may or may not result  in  additional  cost,  depending  upon  final  value  of  price escalation  determined  on  actual  completion  of  project.  If  delay  is attributable to the Contractor, damages are imposed and there is no additional cost due to delay. Many State Governments conduct coordination meetings led by the Chief Secretary  to resolve issues affecting project execution. Projects where issues remain unresolved are escalated for further review  through  the  Project  Monitoring  Group.  As  a  result  of  the above, no. of projects delayed by more than 3 years has come down to 85 in February 2026. The  optimal  alignment for a  new  project

is  approved  by  an Empowered Committee keeping in view the viability of the project after taking into consideration various factors such as the cost of the land, the time period for acquisition etc.

ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (a) TO (c)  OF LOK SABHA  UNSTARRED  QUESTION  NO.  6339  ANSWERED  ON  02 ND APRIL, 2026 ASKED BY SHRI KARTI P CHIDAMBARAM REGARDING 'COMPENSATION  FOR  LAND  ACQUISITION  UNDER  BHARATMALA PARIYOJANA'.

State  Wise  Details  of  Land  Acquisition  for  Project  including  under Bharatmala  Pariyojana  by  National  Highways  Authority  of  India (NHAI) during last 5 years (2021-2026)

| S. No.                 | State               | Acquired land during Last 05 Years (Hectare)   |
|------------------------|---------------------|------------------------------------------------|
| 1                      | ANDHRA PRADESH      | 5033.20                                        |
| 2                      | ASSAM               | 674.66                                         |
| 3                      | BIHAR               | 5274.88                                        |
| 4                      | CHHATTISGARH        | 976.45                                         |
| 5 DADRA & NAGAR HAVELI | 2.36                |                                                |
| 6                      | DELHI               | 16.05                                          |
| 7 GUJARAT              | 2442.12             |                                                |
| 8 HARYANA              | 1832.60             |                                                |
| 9 HIMACHAL PRADESH     | 510.39              |                                                |
| 10                     | JAMMU & KASHMIR     | 632.37                                         |
| 11                     | JHARKHAND           | 4482.28                                        |
| 12                     | KARNATAKA           | 6292.26                                        |
| 13                     | KERALA              | 781.95                                         |
| 14 MADHYA              | 6634.87             |                                                |
| 15                     | PRADESH MAHARASHTRA | 4779.82                                        |
| 16                     | MEGHALAYA           | 2.85                                           |
| 17                     |                     | 2602.28                                        |
| ODISHA 18 PONDICHERRY  | 8.82                |                                                |
| 19 PUNJAB              | 5483.34             |                                                |
| 20 RAJASTHAN           |                     | 1799.60                                        |
| 21 TAMIL NADU          |                     | 1058.58                                        |
| 22                     | TELANGANA           | 4796.16                                        |
| 23                     | UTTAR PRADESH       | 7098.43                                        |
| 24                     | UTTARAKHAND         | 606.86                                         |
| 25                     | WEST BENGAL         | 2274.86                                        |
| TOTAL                  | TOTAL               | 66098.03                                       |

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