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With the consent of counsel for the parties, C.W.P.No.16619 of 2009 R.L.F. Industries Ltd. And others vs. National Highway Authority of India and others, is taken as a lead case and the facts are, thus, taken from the said writ petition.

Petitioner No.1 is a manufacturing unit situated on three contiguous plots falling in Khasra Nos.21/5, 21/6, 21/7, 21/8 and 21/26. All the three plots are being used by petitioner No.1 for its production, storage and residence of factory workers which has super-structures built thereon. After purchase of agricultural land in the year 1982, Change of Land Use (hereinafter referred to as CLU) was applied for. On 17.4.1989 (Annexure P-1), Director, Town & Country Planning Department, Haryana, accepted the application and granted permission for CLU for the above plots, totalling 20 kanals and 10 marlas. On 17.10.1990, the District Town Planner, Sonepat, approved building plan of petitioner No.1 under the Punjab Scheduled Roads and Controlled Areas (Restriction of Unregulated Development) Act, 1963 (Annexure P-2). On 11.10.1991, the Directorate of Industries, Haryana issued a permanent registration certificate certifying it to be a small scale industry (Annexure P-3). Petitioner No.1 duly got registered itself with the Central Excise Department, Sales Tax Department and under the VAT Act. Trader Identification Number (TIN) was also assigned to the petitioner. Land of the petitioners is located by the side of Grand Trunk Road (G.T.Road) at village Badkhalsa near Karnal. The entire area on both sides of the GT Road is an industrial hub. In the year 2005, respondents constituted a Monitoring Committee for planned development of Eastern Peripheral Expressway (for short EPE) and Western Peripheral Expressway which is popularly known as Kundli Manesar Palwal Expressway ( hereinafter referred to as WPE/KMPE). The Authority decided that inter-section of these two expressways should be planned at K.M. Stone No.39.725 on the National Highway No.1 (for short NH-1) i.e. G.T. Karnal Road. As per this proposed plan, almost the entire industrial hub in the area was left out of the purview of acquisition. Haryana State Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation ( for short HSIIDC ) i.e. respondent No.7 pressed that the proposed inter-section should be at K.M. Stone No.36.083 and not at Km. Stone No.39.725. The reason assigned for such change was that HSIIDC had already spent a few crores of rupees for acquisition of land taking Km. Stone No.36.083 as the intersection point with NH-1 and on the insistence of the Government of Haryana, the proposed intersection was finalized at Km. Stone No. 36.083. This exercise was done arbitrarily and with a mala fide intention to save vacant land belonging to influential persons.

The National Highway Authority of India (for short NHAI) i.e. respondent No.1 issued notification under Section 3(A) (1) of the NH Act on 30.5.2008 (Annexure P-10) for acquisition of land adjoining NH-1 for construction of intersection of Eastern and Western Expressways. The public purpose mentioned therein was for construction of "Eastern Peripheral Expressway". The intersection contained four loops and the land of the petitioners came within loop No.4. Three plots being used by petitioner No.1 are outside the proposed loops and it is only some area of plot situated in khasra No.216 which is required for raising pillars to support the elevated road/loop No.4. Area falling in Khasra Nos.21/5 and 21/7 is not required at all for construction of loop No.4 or for the elevated road. Objections were invited and petitioners filed their objections under Section 3 (C ) (1) of the NH Act wherein they requested for the release of their land from the proposed acquisition. It was submitted that it is a running industry and has all valid permissions from statutory authorities to run its operations. Alternatively, it was requested that the area required for construction for elevated road/loop No.4 which falls under Khasra No.21/6 be acquired and rest of the land upon which the unit is situated falling in Khasra No.21/5 and 21/7 be released from proposed acquisition. Similar treatment was prayed for as in the case of Toyo Springs Ltd. where only the minimum required area falling under the proposed road stood acquired and the rest was released. Objections were considered by respondent No.1-NHAI, 2-Union of India and 4-Competent Authority-cum-District Revenue Officer, Sonepat. The same were partly accepted and notification dated 27.5.2009 (Annexure P-16) under Section 3 (D) (1) and (2) of the NH Act was issued vide which only a small portion of land of the petitioners falling in Khasra No.21/6 was sought to be acquired, leaving rest of the petitioners' land falling in Khasra Nos.21/5 & 21/7.

Per contra, counsel for the respondents have also not contested the fact that a Division Bench of this Court in C.W.P.No.11461 of 2005 M/s. Golden Iron & Steel Forging's case (supra) has upheld the vires of the provisions of the NH Act except as held therein. It has been contended that the projects of EPE and WPE/KMPE are being given effect to in the light of the directions issued by the Hon'ble Supreme Court. The intersection point at Km..36.083 has been fixed after due deliberations by the Monitoring Committee keeping in view the survey which has been conducted in this regard by the Concessionaire of HSIIDC. The Monitoring Committee has taken its decision keeping in view the totality of the facts and circumstances of the case and a practical approach has been followed. No change has been brought about in the location of the intersection under the influence of any person or authority. The spot plan of interchange has been finalized after several meetings of the NHAI and its consultants and HSIIDC and its independent consultant and the interested parties. On the eastern side of NH 1, land measuring 23 acres, 4 kanals 16 marlas required for interchange has been transferred from HUDA out of the land acquired by it for Rajiv Gandhi Education City. Land measuring 3 acres 1 kanal 16 marlas has been transferred from Haryana Health Department at village Badkhalsa, District Sonepat. Land measuring 1 acre 1 kanal belonging to Moti Lal Nehru School of Sports, Rai, has been transferred from Sports and Youth Welfare Department, Haryana. Land measuring 16.5 hectares required for this interchange on eastern side of NH-1 being part of EPE is being acquired under the NH Act through the Ministry of Roads, Transport and Highways, Government of India. The land of the petitioners is essentially required for the project. The alternative plans submitted by the petitioners are not in consonance with the expressway standards and the decision has been taken keeping in view the traffic safety, future developments and every other aspect of the matter regarding designing and location of the intersection. As regards the difficulties which the petitioners may face because of acquisition of the land, it has been submitted that the project being of national importance which shall be benefitting people travelling on it and in particular traffic to and from the Northern States besides local public living alongside the National Highway, will have precedence over private interest as public interest must prevail. The petitioners cannot claim the benefit of rehabilitation policy of the State of Haryana as the land has not been acquired under the LA Act by the State of Haryana. There can be no discrimination as the policy in question of the State of Haryana does not flow from the LA Act as such and in any case, the petitioners will not be entitled to benefit of alternative industrial plot as the policy only envisages allotment of residential plots and that too when the land is acquired by HUDA and HSIIDC which is not the case in hand.

Government of Haryana and HSIIDC vociferously took up the matter before the Monitoring Committee in its meeting held on 11.3.2006. It was submitted that the starting point of WPE/KMPE cannot be changed to Km. 39.725 because the Concession Agreement for the project had already been executed on 31.01.2006 and that approximately 940 acres of land had been acquired and a sum of Rs.164.15 crore had been paid to Land Acquisition Collectors, Sonepat and Jhajjar. It was submitted that in the meeting the technical and financial bids were invited from the bidders on 17.12.2004 with take off point at Km. 36.083 on NH-1 and the process of land acquisition had also been initiated. Award for about 18 acres of land had already been announced from take off point at Km. 36.083 on NH-1 in District Sonepat and the physical possession of the same has taken in November, 2004 and at this stage, it would be difficult to change the take off point from Km. 36.083 to Km. 39.725 on NH-1. The shifting of the take off point at this stage to Km. 39.725 would involve acquisition of additional land in a stretch of 12 Kms. at a cost of Rs.60 crore and the cost already incurred on the acquisition of existing stretch of about 12 Kms. and the land acquired by HUDA for EPE upto 4 Km. would be rendered infructuous. Accordingly, the starting/take off point for both the expressways was reconsidered by the Monitoring Committee and it was decided to be located at Km. 36.083 of NH-1. The Monitoring Committee also decided that interchange on NH-1 at starting/take off point at its Km. 36.083 would be constructed by HSIIDC and interchange on NH-2 at its Km. 64.33 would be constructed by NHAI and the design prepared for the interchange on NH-1 by HSIIDC would be submitted to NHAI for obtaining its acceptance and similarly the design of interchange on NH-2 being finalized by NHAI would be submitted to the Government of Haryana/HSIIDC for their acceptance. Detailed deliberations were held in the Monitoring Committee meetings held on 24.9.2005 and 21.10.2006, leading to the finalization of fixing the starting/take off point at Km. 36.083 on NH-1. The Minutes of the Meetings and other documents have been placed on record supporting the stand of the State of Haryana with regard to process of acquisition of land, a project report, the bid process and the Concessionaire Agreement entered into by State of Haryana. As regards the loop which was conceptualized and finalized in the interchange of WPE/KMPE on NH-1, it has been submitted that the same was fixed at Km. 36.083 on NH-1.