New Delhi: While China has long been famous for its “nail houses”, which are lone structures that stand defiant in the middle of massive highways but now India is also witnessing its own brand of architectural rebellion.
Something similar is on the cards for the new Delhi-Dehradun Expressway, as a single house in Mandola village has stopped the machinery in its tracks. The highway is a project designed to slash travel times to just two hours, featuring a six-lane access-controlled design with a speed limit of 100 kmph.
The residence, aptly named ‘Swabhiman’, sits squarely on the intended service road, echoing the resilience of famous Chinese holdouts like tofu vendor Ye Yushou. Despite the highway’s grand inauguration by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Rs 13,000 crore infrastructure marvel currently has a very personal roadblock that proves engineering isn’t always a match for iron-clad willpower.
Land dispute over the house
A land dispute has been ongoing over the house since 1998, and the owner of the house, the late Dr Veersen Sorah, challenged the Uttar Pradesh Housing Board’s land acquisition for the Mandola Housing Scheme in the Allahabad High Court. Saroha did not agree to the authorities’ notification of acquiring 2,614 acres of land from six villages for the scheme, and he moved to court seeking higher compensation as they were offered just Rs 1,100 per square meter.
According to The Indian Express report, presently, the land is owned by the late Saroha’s grandson, Lakshyaveer Saroha and the housing scheme was not completed and the case is still pending in the Allahabad High Court.
The National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) decided to launch an expressway from Delhi’s Akshardham to Dehradun in Uttarakhand in 2020. The authority needed the Saroha family land to construct a service road from Dehradun to exit at Mandola to head towards Panchlok near Loni.
Legal deadlock and fight for ‘fair value’ continue
In 2024, Lakshyaveer, citing the threat of demolition, filed a lawsuit in the Supreme Court. The apex court has directed that the status quo be maintained and prohibit any demolition or further construction and also urged the High Court to expedite the hearing of the case.