252 claimants cry foul as Adm sits on Rs. 43 Cr Compensation released by the Centre
Sunil Dutt
It was pitched as a game-changer. A grand infrastructure project promising progress, prosperity, and seamless connectivity across North India. But for hundreds of landowners in Kathua and adjoining areas, the Delhi-Katra-Amritsar Expressway has become a nightmare paved with broken promises, unpaid dues, and unanswered pleas.
Despite the Centre’s release of ₹43 crore for land compensation, not a single rupee has reached the rightful owners. 252 compensation cases—yes, 252—languish in red tape and political silence. ₹42.89 crore remains locked in government vaults, while the very people whose lands were taken wait, beg, and suffer.
“The Centre kept its promise. The state betrayed us,” says Diddar Singh, a landowner from Kiddian Gadyal village, whose court-won claim still lies unpaid. “We are being robbed in broad daylight.”
People affected by the Delhi-Katra-Amritsar Expressway project are struggling desperately for rightful compensation, moving from office to office in search of justice. Despite repeated appeals to government officials and authorities, no concrete decision has been made in their favor. As a result, they continue to wait endlessly for the compensation they are entitled to. Their prolonged battle for their rights remains unanswered, with the administration showing little resolve to address their grievances.
While landowners run from pillar to post, file applications, and stage protests, their elected MLAs—Bharat Bhushan, Rajeev Jasrotia, and Vijay Kumar—have remained conspicuously silent. Not a single question was raised in the Assembly. Not a single demand was made to the state. Locals accuse the J&K administration of indifference, alleging that their repeated appeals for justice have fallen on deaf ears.
The insensitivity on the part of concerned officers and public representatives that resulted into such an inordinate delay, in the disbursement of compensation to a large number of bonafide landowners, has pushed them to a tight corner facing unending sufferings. Many have made borrowings to fulfil their social commitments and for health care as few of them have been suffering from terminal diseases.
“The funds have been sanctioned, yet the rightful claimants are being denied their due. This is not just negligence—it’s an outright failure of governance,” said Diddar Singh, a landowner from Kiddian Gadyal village, whose compensation remains unpaid despite amicable settlement between him and the possessor.
It is settled law that that compensation must be disbursed to legal landowners rather than possessors. But even judicial verdicts haven’t moved the administration to act.
It has been learnt that a committee was formed under Government Order No. 13 dated February 5, 2025, to finalise and submit the guidelines within 21 days for dealing with such cases where any intervention was made against the rightful owner even on a flimsy ground. However, the fate of this committee is not yet known even after passage of over 2 months.
Interestingly, the Locals question the wisdom of the Commissioner Revenue Department in constituting this committee with top officers from Kashmir Division and few from Jammu division to formulate guidelines who could rarely hold a meeting keeping in view their tight schedules at their administrative places and assignments. Further, the committee has total disconnect with the ground realities, as none of its members hail from the Kathua district or understand the region’s unique land issues.
The Administration, thus, took an opportunity in such cases to withhold a huge amount of compensation of about 43 Crores which it had already received from the Centre and earning interest over the amount.
“I’ve visited every relevant office, met officials, filed applications—yet nothing has moved forward. We’ve been left to fight this battle alone,” Singh added.
The delays have cast a long shadow over what was intended to be a transformative infrastructure project. Designed to enhance connectivity and accelerate economic growth across North India, the expressway now symbolizes bureaucratic apathy and delayed justice for hundreds of families.
Civil society groups and local activists have now demanded an independent investigation, calling on both the judiciary and higher administrative bodies to intervene. They also criticize elected representatives for their silence, pointing out that none of the three MLAs have raised the issue in the Assembly or pushed the matter with the Chief Minister who also holds the charge of the Revenue department.
With Rs 42.89 crore still undisbursed and livelihoods hanging in the balance, affected residents are calling for immediate state-level action. Until then, what should have been a symbol of progress continues to be a source of pain, delay, and broken promises.
