Central Government Amends Land Classification for National Highway 322 Acquisition in Bihar

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways issued a formal corrigendum on September 22, 2025, to modify a previous land acquisition notification concerning the development of National Highway infrastructure. The notification, identified as S.O. 4279(E), was promulgated under the authority of the National Highways Act, 1956, to rectify the description of land parcels intended for acquisition in the state of Bihar. This executive instrument amended the primary notification, S.O. 68(E), which was originally published on January 3, 2025, regarding the acquisition of land for the construction of a Road Over Bridge at Muktapur on National Highway 322. The corrections were necessitated following a detailed site investigation and a subsequent report by a sixman committee, which identified discrepancies in the recorded nature of the land.

The legislation provided: “In exercise of powers conferred by clause (a) of section 3 of the National Highways Act, 1956 (48 of 1956), the Central Government, hereby makes the following amendment in the notification of the Government of India in the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, number S.O. 68(E), dated the 3rd January 2025”

The scope of the amendment is concentrated within the Warisnagar Taluk of the Samastipur district, specifically affecting land parcels in the villages of Sari and Manipur. The corrigendum systematically updated the "Nature of Land" for fifty one specific survey and plot numbers. Under the revised schedule, land that was previously categorized under various traditional agricultural or structural descriptions such as Bhith (upland), Dhanhar (paddy land), Makaan (house), or Purani Parti (old fallow land) has been formally reclassified as residential. This reclassification includes significant plots in Village Manipur that were previously identified as high school grounds or fallow land, all of which are now legally recognized as residential for the purposes of the acquisition proceedings. The notification came into force immediately upon its publication in the Official Gazette.

The legislative intent behind this corrigendum is to ensure statutory precision and factual accuracy in the land acquisition process. In the Indian legal framework, the classification of land nature is a critical determinant for the calculation of compensation and the discharge of rehabilitation obligations. The earlier statutory framework, established by the January 2025 notification, relied on preliminary land records that did not fully reflect the current usage of the plots. By addressing these statutory gaps through the findings of a site investigation conducted on April 26, 2025, the government has aligned the legal records with the physical reality of the land. This administrative correction, initiated following a communication from the District Magistrate of Samastipur, serves to prevent future litigation regarding valuation and ensures that the enforcement of Section 3A of the National Highways Act is based on verified data. The substitution of the land nature across these plots ensures that the rights of the affected persons are adjudicated based on the residential status of their property, thereby streamlining the statutory timeline for the National Highway 322 project.

Keywords: National Highways Act 1956, Land Acquisition, Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, Bihar, Samastipur, Corrigendum, Section 3A, Residential Land, NH 322

Geo Tags: India, Bihar
District: Samastipur