Admin seeks 15 days to resolve issues
Construction work likely to resume today
Farmers flag missing revenue records, pending compensation
BRO says dues will be cleared; work likely to resume soon
Additional 2.925 hectares of land sought for project expansion: Official
Pattan: Farmers from north Kashmir’s Palhallan on Friday met the Deputy Commissioner Baramulla, who assured them that their grievances would be addressed within 15 days, after they had blocked portions of the newly constructed Pattan Byepass highway and disrupted ongoing work.
The aggrieved farmers alleged that their land was taken without due notification and claimed that key revenue records have gone missing. The disruption traces back to April 1, when construction work on the Pattan–Hanjwera stretch of the Srinagar–Baramulla four-lane highway project was halted at multiple locations after landowners fenced off portions of the alignment.
The project, being executed by the Border Roads Organisation (BRO), involves the construction of a 100-foot-wide, nearly 11-kilometre greenfield bypass from Hanjwera to Tapper and has been under execution for the past two years.
At the centre of the dispute is the alleged non-notification of 55 to 57 kanals of land under the provisions of the National Highways Act.
Farmers alleged that while some portions of land were formally notified and compensation disbursed, additional land was taken and utilised for the project without completion of mandatory legal procedures, including issuance of statutory notifications.
A delegation of affected farmers on Friday met Deputy Commissioner Baramulla Syed Fakhr-ud-Din, seeking immediate redressal of their grievances.
According to officials, the Deputy Commissioner assured the delegation that the matter would be resolved within the next two weeks. Officials in the district administration confirmed the meeting.
Additional Deputy Commissioner Baramulla Syed Altaf Musavi said that the farmers’ delegation met on Friday and had raised their concerns before the Deputy Commissioner. He assured that the concerns will addressed within days.
Faheem Altaf Kangoo, NT Defence at the DC Office Baramulla, expressed hope that the issue would be resolved shortly and that construction work on the highway would resume soon.
“Hopefully there issue will be resolved within days, and work on highway will be resumed on Saturday,” Kangoo said.
Meanwhile, several farmers from Palhallan and adjoining villages alleged serious discrepancies in revenue records.
They claimed that although the land is recorded in their names, the official entries either do not reflect the actual extent of land taken or are missing altogether.
Ishfaq Rasool, one of the farmers, said the administration has promised that all pending issues, including compensation and verification of land records, will be addressed within 15 days.
Mohammad Khaleel Tantray, a resident of Palhallan, said it has been four years since the process began, but they have only received compensation for apple trees on four kanals, while payment for the land itself remains pending, along with an additional eight marlas. He added that compensation for another four kanals is still awaited.
“We appeal to the authorities to resolve the issue at the earliest; otherwise, we will be forced to again block the highway and disrupt the work. We have approached several officials multiple times over the past four years, but nothing concrete has been done,” he said. Khaleel further claimed that the local patwari informed them that the said land is missing and not shown in the official revenue records.
Similar concerns were raised by Abdul Rashid, who alleged that over four kanals under Survey No. 1781 were taken without proper notification. “This land sustained our families. There is no clarity in revenue entries or compensation,” he said. Another farmer, Gulzar Ahmad Dar, said that portions of his land were taken in phases. “Some land was notified and compensation was paid, but later, additional land measuring around 11 marlas under Survey No. 188 was taken without notification. Even after repeated follow-ups, we have only received assurances,” he said.
Dar said they had fenced off the disputed portion and warned that work will not be allowed until due process is completed. He further alleged that nearly 45 kanals in the broader area remain unaccounted for in official records. Several landowners also claimed that although awards for certain portions were announced in 2024, payments for additional land are still pending.
The farmers alleged that possession of land was taken and construction initiated without completing statutory requirements, effectively bypassing due process. Ghulam Rasool Sheikh, a resident of Palhallan, said that his land was taken nearly 18 months ago, and construction was initiated without proper notification. He alleged that two kanals under Survey No. 2145 are missing from the revenue records. “If the land has been legally acquired, why is it not reflected in official entries?” he asked, adding that he has been approaching officials for over a year without any concrete outcome. Another farmer, Mohammad Ashraf Tantary, said that nearly two-and-a-half kanals of his land are not reflected in official records despite being used for the project. “For the last 18 to 20 months, we have been visiting the Tehsil and Deputy Commissioner’s offices. We are told the matter is under process, but the road is being constructed over our land,” he said. Tantary added that while they are not opposed to development, the legal process must be followed.
Responding to the concerns, a senior BRO official in Srinagar said that files related to the disputed land have already been forwarded by the Deputy Commissioner’s office to the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) for necessary approvals. The official assured that all eligible landowners would be compensated. “Every penny due will be paid once procedural formalities are completed,” he said, adding that no rightful claimant would be left out.
Meanwhile, official documents accessed by Kashmir Horizon reveal that the Pattan Bypass project, sanctioned in March 2023 at a total cost of Rs 980.21 crore, has achieved around 48 percent physical progress so far. While over Rs 335 crore has already been disbursed as compensation, a portion remains pending due to litigation, objections, and procedural delays.
Notably, authorities have also sought in-principle approval for the acquisition of an additional 2.925 hectares of land, involving an estimated financial implication of around Rs 50 crore.
Officials say this additional requirement is necessary to meet geometric design standards and project facility norms, and to address alignment-related anomalies.
The Pattan Bypass was conceived to ease long-standing traffic congestion in Pattan town along the busy Srinagar–Baramulla highway.
For years, heavy vehicular movement through the town’s narrow market area led to frequent traffic jams, delays, and disruptions to daily life. The bypass is expected to divert through-traffic, improve travel time, and enhance road safety in the region.
