Central Government Initiates Land Acquisition for Road Over Bridge Construction in Jaunpur District

The Ministry of Railways, acting through the Northern Railway’s Construction Organization, issued a formal notification on July 21, 2025, declaring the Central Government’s intention to acquire land in the Jaunpur district of Uttar Pradesh. This statutory instrument, identified as S.O. 3358(E) and published in the Gazette of India on July 22, 2025, was promulgated under the authority of the Railways Act, 1989. The acquisition is designated for a public purpose, specifically the construction of a Road Over Bridge (a structure carrying a road over a railway line) at Level Crossing No. 41C. This infrastructure development is a vital component of the doubling of the Special Railway Project along the Jaunpur Zafrabad Section, which covers a distance of 6.28 kilometers within the Lucknow Division of the Northern Railway.

The notification identified a total area of 1.1220 hectares of land to be acquired across the villages of Nathupur and Ahmadpur within the Sadar Tehsil. The legislation provided: “In exercise of the powers conferred by sub section (1) of Section 20A of the Railways Act, 1989 (24 of 1989), (hereinafter referred to as the said Act), the Central Government, after being satisfied that for the public purpose, the land, the brief description of which has been given in the Schedule annexed hereto, is required for construction of proposed ROB at L Xing No.41C in connection with doubling of Special Railway Project Jaunpur Zafrabad Section (6.28Km.) of Lucknow Division on Northern Railway in District Jaunpur in the State of Uttar Pradesh, hereby declares its intention to acquire such land.”

Under the procedural requirements of the Act, the government has established a window for public participation and legal recourse. Any individual with an interest in the scheduled land is permitted to raise objections to the acquisition or the intended use of the land within thirty days from the date of the notification's publication in the Official Gazette. Such objections must be submitted in writing to the designated competent authority, the Special Land Acquisition Officer in Jaunpur. The statutory process ensures that every objector is granted an opportunity to be heard, either in person or through a legal practitioner. Following a hearing and any further necessary inquiry, the competent authority is empowered to issue an order either allowing or disallowing the objections. According to the statutory framework, any order rendered by the competent authority under Section 20D(2) of the Act shall be final and binding.

The legislative intent and policy rationale behind this notification centre on the urgent need to upgrade railway infrastructure to accommodate increased traffic and enhance public safety. By doubling the Jaunpur Zafrabad section, the Ministry aims to alleviate congestion on the Lucknow Varanasi rail corridor. The construction of the Road Over Bridge is specifically intended to address the statutory gap in safety at level crossings, where the intersection of rail and road traffic often leads to accidents and operational delays. This notification marks the transition from the planning phase to the formal enforcement of land acquisition, substituting the private or local control of the specified plots with a federal mandate for infrastructure development. The notification and its associated land plans were made available for public inspection at the office of the competent authority immediately upon publication, marking the date the legislation came into force.

Keywords: Railways Act 1989, Land Acquisition, Northern Railway, Road Over Bridge, Jaunpur-Zafrabad Section, Uttar Pradesh Infrastructure, Ministry of Railways, Special Railway Project

Geo Tags: India, Uttar Pradesh
District: Jaunpur