NHAI 15-Day Objection Review: Hearings Conclude on 397 Farmer Objections for Gondal-Hirasar Six-Lane Project

Introduction

In a pivotal development for Saurashtra’s regional transport infrastructure, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has officially concluded the formal hearing process regarding land acquisition for the proposed Gondal-Hirasar Greenfield Six-Lane Highway. The intensive hearings addressed a total of 397 objection applications submitted by landowners and agricultural families across 17 affected villages in the Rajkot, Kotda Sangani, and Gondal talukas. With the personal hearings now complete, the project enters a decisive phase as the official NHAI 15-day objection review mechanism begins to evaluate each claim before submitting final technical remarks to the competent land acquisition authorities.

This regulatory step is critical because it directly balances high-speed infrastructure expansion with the protection of farmer livelihoods across rural Rajkot. The proposed 43.9-kilometer greenfield bypass requires approximately 388 hectares of land to construct a seamless high-speed corridor connecting National Highway 27 (NH-27) at Gondal directly to the Rajkot Greenfield International Airport at Hirasar. By addressing concerns over agricultural land loss, alignment modifications, and compensation benchmarks, the hearing process aims to resolve disputes transparently before final acquisition notifications are issued.

As the statutory clock ticks, local farmers, revenue officials, and infrastructure developers are keeping a close watch on the outcome. The execution of this 15-day review period will determine whether alignment adjustments will be granted to preserve fertile farmland or whether compensation packages will be restructured. The resolution of these 397 land objections will ultimately pave the way for land possession, clearing the path for one of Gujarat’s most strategically important highway projects.

What is NHAI 15-Day Objection Review?

The NHAI 15-Day Objection Review is a statutory administrative procedure governed by Section 3C of the National Highways Act, 1956. Once the Central Government issues a preliminary land acquisition notification under Section 3A, affected landowners and interested parties are granted a legal 21-day window to file formal written objections regarding the proposed land acquisition, highway alignment, or land classification.

Following the receipt of written objections, the Special Land Acquisition Officer (SLAO) conducts formal face-to-face hearings where landowners present evidence, land surveys, and grievance petitions. Upon the conclusion of these hearings, the case files are referred back to the NHAI Project Implementation Unit (PIU). Under the established protocol, NHAI engineering and legal teams must complete a comprehensive NHAI 15-day objection review, issuing written remarks and technical feasibility reports on each individual objection.

These administrative remarks clarify whether a farmer’s objection is accepted—leading to alignment tweaks, bypass modifications, or land exclusion—or rejected with legal and engineering justifications. The final remarks are then submitted to the Competent Authority for Land Acquisition (CALA) to finalize the land acquisition award under Section 3D of the Act.

Why This News is Important

The completion of objector hearings and the commencement of the 15-day technical review carry immense significance for Gujarat’s infrastructure pipeline and agricultural community. First, the Gondal-Hirasar Greenfield Highway serves as a vital bypass designed to route heavy industrial and inter-state commercial traffic away from Rajkot’s congested urban core, dramatically cutting travel time to the Rajkot International Airport.

Second, the case highlights the growing emphasis on constitutional due process and farmer welfare during large-scale infrastructure projects. With farmers from 17 villages voicing serious concerns regarding the loss of fertile irrigated land, pasture lands (Gauchar), and family holdings, the review process ensures that public infrastructure goals do not ride roughshod over rural livelihoods.

Finally, the outcome of this 15-day review will establish a legal and administrative precedent for future greenfield corridor projects across Gujarat. Demonstrating that NHAI can address 397 complex land claims within tight statutory deadlines reinforces public trust in government land acquisition mechanisms while maintaining momentum for national highway development.

Background Information

The demand for a dedicated greenfield bypass connecting Gondal to the new Rajkot International Airport at Hirasar emerged following the commercial opening of the Hirasar airport facility. Currently, heavy freight trucks, industrial cargo from Morbi and Metoda, and passenger traffic moving between South Gujarat/Saurashtra and Ahmedabad must navigate congested urban arterial roads in Rajkot, leading to severe bottlenecks and elevated accident rates.

To resolve this issue, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) approved the 6-Lane Greenfield Rajkot Bypass project on NH-27, spanning 0 km to 43.919 km. In July 2026, official notifications under the National Highways Act initiated the land acquisition process across 24 regional villages, temporarily freezing non-agricultural (N.A.) land conversion permissions across the project alignment.

+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
|                    PROJECT LAND ACQUISITION OVERVIEW                  |
+--------------------------+--------------------------------------------+
| Project Scope            | 6-Lane Greenfield Highway (0 to 43.919 km)|
| Connective Corridor      | Gondal to Hirasar International Airport    |
| Total Land Required      | ~388 Hectares across 17–24 Villages        |
| Total Objections Heard   | 397 Individual Farmer/Landowner Petitions  |
| Key Administrative Phase | NHAI 15-Day Objection Review & Remarks     |
| Applicable Statute       | Section 3A / 3C, National Highways Act 1956|
+--------------------------+--------------------------------------------+

As preliminary land surveys commenced, farmers across 17 primary villages—including Ribda, Ardoi, Anandpar, Pipaliya, Gunda, and Kuchiyadar—formed opposition committees. They submitted representations requesting alignment shifts onto government waste lands, fair market-linked compensation, and clear rehabilitation policies, culminating in the 397 formal objection petitions recently evaluated during district hearings.

Key Highlights

• Hearings Concluded: Special Land Acquisition Officer and revenue authorities completed personal hearings for all 397 objection applications.
• 17 Villages Covered: Objections represent agricultural landowners across 17 affected villages in Rajkot, Kotda Sangani, and Gondal talukas.
• 15-Day Review Timeline: NHAI technical and legal teams now have 15 days to issue formal remarks on each submitted objection.
• Massive Land Footprint: The greenfield six-lane corridor requires the acquisition of approximately 388 hectares of private, agricultural, and government land.
• Core Farmer Demands: Re-alignment to maximize government wasteland usage, protection of irrigation wells, and higher compensation under Jantara/Jantri market rates.
• Next Statutory Step: Submission of final NHAI remarks to the CALA for formal Section 3D declaration and final land award declaration.

Detailed Explanation of the Event

The hearing process for the Gondal-Hirasar Greenfield Six-Lane Highway was conducted under the supervision of the Special Land Acquisition Officer (National Highways), Rajkot. Landowners from the 17 affected villages were summoned in batches to present their original land records, survey maps, and formal objection statements.

During the hearings, the 397 objection applications primarily fell into three main categories: requests for total highway re-alignment, claims regarding the division of single agricultural survey numbers into unusable fragments, and demands for elevated financial compensation reflecting current real estate market value along the industrial corridor.

+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
|                    OBJECTION CATEGORIES & REVIEW PROCESS              |
+--------------------------+--------------------------------------------+
| Objection Type           | Key Farmer Concerns & Requests             |
+--------------------------+--------------------------------------------+
| Alignment Re-route       | Shift highway onto vacant government land  |
| Land Severance           | Avoid bisecting fields into unusable plots |
| Compensation Rates       | Demand higher market-aligned Jantri rates  |
| Asset Loss Claims        | Compensation for wells, pipelines & trees  |
| NHAI 15-Day Action       | Engineering audit, map checks & remark filing|
+--------------------------+--------------------------------------------+

With the oral and written hearing stage concluded, the entire repository of 397 petitions has been transferred to the Project Implementation Unit (PIU) of NHAI in Rajkot. Over the ongoing 15-day review window, NHAI highway engineers, satellite mapping experts, and legal advisors are evaluating each survey number. They will determine whether minor alignment shifts are feasible, verify whether private structures or tube wells are affected, and prepare standardized remarks that will decide the final boundary of the greenfield highway.

Benefits and Importance of the Highway Project

Once the land acquisition process resolves these objections, the construction of the Gondal-Hirasar six-lane highway will unlock massive economic benefits for Saurashtra:

1. Bypassing Urban Traffic Congestion in Rajkot

By diverting long-distance commercial freight moving between West Gujarat, Porbandar, and South Gujarat directly toward Ahmedabad and North India, the bypass will drastically reduce traffic congestion and vehicular emissions inside Rajkot city.

2. Rapid Airport Connectivity

The six-lane greenfield corridor will allow passengers from Gondal, Junagadh, Amreli, and Jetpur to reach Rajkot International Airport at Hirasar in under 30 minutes, bypassing urban traffic intersections completely.

3. Boosting Regional Industrial Logistics

Industrial hubs like Metoda GIDC, Shapar-Veraval, and the ceramic clusters near Morbi will gain faster, heavy-vehicle-friendly connectivity to major national highway networks, reducing logistics costs for exporters.

4. Planned Infrastructure Growth

Constructing a planned greenfield corridor allows NHAI to incorporate modern highway features—such as grade-separated interchanges, service roads, wildlife underpasses, and advanced traffic management systems—without the physical constraints of widening existing crowded roads.

How It Impacts People

The outcome of the land acquisition review directly influences several key stakeholder groups across the region:

• For Affected Farmers and Landowners: The 15-day review determines whether their agricultural fields will be acquired, modified, or spared, directly impacting their family livelihoods and financial compensation outcomes.
• For Commuters and Travelers: Offers the long-term prospect of seamless, high-speed travel between Gondal, Rajkot Airport, and Ahmedabad, drastically reducing travel times.
• For Regional Industries and Exporters: Provides a modern freight transit corridor that simplifies supply chain logistics for manufacturing units in Saurashtra.
• For Local Real Estate and Economy: Establishing a major six-lane greenfield bypass typically accelerates land development, commercial warehousing, and logistics park investments along surrounding junction points.

Expert Insights and Legal Perspective

Legal specialists and infrastructure analysts emphasize that strict adherence to statutory timelines under the National Highways Act, 1956, is essential for avoiding prolonged court litigation. According to land acquisition experts, the 15-day review window allows National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) engineers to weed out technical discrepancies between physical land surveys and revenue records before issuing the final Section 3D acquisition notice.

Transportation planners point out that greenfield bypasses are far superior to brownfield road widening in urbanizing zones. Widening existing roads often involves demolishing dense commercial structures and displacing urban shops. In contrast, acquiring rural greenfield stretches allows for higher design speeds, better safety buffers, and long-term expansion capacity.

Furthermore, agricultural policy experts highlight that successful land acquisition hinges on transparent communication regarding compensation frameworks. Applying fair compensation formulas under the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (RFCTLARR) principles helps build trust among farming communities, ensuring project execution moves forward smoothly.

Challenges and Operational Considerations

Navigating the transition from objection hearings to physical land possession involves addressing several operational and legal hurdles:

• Evaluating Technical Feasibility of Re-alignments: While farmers frequently request shifting highway paths onto alternative land, NHAI engineers must evaluate whether curve radiuses, speed designs, and bridge locations remain safe and viable.
• Resolving Complex Family Ownership Disputes: Many agricultural survey numbers listed in the 397 objections involve ancestral land shared among multiple family heirs, requiring meticulous title verification by revenue authorities.
• Determining Fair Asset Compensation: Accurately valuing standing crops, private irrigation wells, fruit orchards, and farm structures requires joint field inspections by agriculture, forestry, and public works departments.
• Preventing Project Delays: Balancing thorough review of every individual farmer petition with strict project deadlines is essential to prevent cost overruns and construction delays on the 43.9 km corridor.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What is the NHAI 15-day objection review for the Gondal-Hirasar project?

It is the statutory period during which NHAI technical and legal teams analyze 397 farmer objection petitions filed against land acquisition for the 6-lane highway and provide official remarks before final land acquisition orders are declared.

How many objections were submitted against the Gondal-Hirasar six-lane land acquisition?

A total of 397 formal objection applications were submitted by farmers and landowners across 17 affected villages in the Rajkot district region.

Which villages are primarily affected by this land acquisition drive?

Key affected villages across Rajkot, Kotda Sangani, and Gondal talukas include Ribda, Anandpar, Ardoi, Pipaliya, Gunda, Kuchiyadar, and surrounding areas along the proposed alignment.

Why is the Gondal-Hirasar Six-Lane Highway being constructed?

The highway is being built as a 43.9 km greenfield bypass on NH-27 to connect Gondal directly to Rajkot International Airport at Hirasar, routing heavy traffic away from Rajkot city streets.

What are the main demands of the protesting farmers?

Farmers are demanding alignment adjustments to utilize government waste lands, prevention of land field fragmentation, fair market-aligned compensation, and clear rehabilitation policies.

Under which law is the land acquisition process being conducted?

The acquisition process is governed by the National Highways Act, 1956, utilizing Sections 3A (intent to acquire), 3C (hearing of objections), and 3D (declaration of acquisition).

What happens after NHAI submits its 15-day review remarks?

Once NHAI files its remarks, the Competent Authority for Land Acquisition (CALA) reviews the findings, passes formal orders on each objection, and proceeds to issue the final Section 3D land acquisition declaration.

Conclusion

The completion of objector hearings and the activation of the NHAI 15-day objection review represent a crucial turning point for the Gondal-Hirasar Greenfield Six-Lane Highway. By systematically reviewing all 397 farmer petitions, administrative authorities and NHAI are working to balance crucial regional infrastructure development with fair treatment for local agricultural communities.

The upcoming two weeks will determine the final geographical footprint of this ambitious 43.9-kilometer corridor. Transparent technical remarks and fair compensation decisions will be essential to resolving farmer grievances, minimizing land disputes, and ensuring smooth project execution across the 17 affected villages.

As Rajkot continues to grow as an industrial and aviation hub in Gujarat, establishing high-speed greenfield bypasses remains vital for future economic growth. The successful, equitable resolution of this land acquisition review will set a strong benchmark for sustainable infrastructure development across the state.