CURRENT AFFAIRS | INFRASTRUCTURE & LAW | 29 APRIL 2026
CLAT GK + LAND-ACQUISITION LAW | RFCTLARR Act 2013 | Article 19(1)(d)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 29 April 2026 inaugurated the Ganga Expressway — at 594 km, India’s longest operational expressway — running from Meerut to Prayagraj across 12 districts of Uttar Pradesh. Built at a project cost of approximately Rs 36,230 crore by the Uttar Pradesh Expressways Industrial Development Authority (UPEIDA), the corridor is a 6-lane access-controlled expressway expandable to 8 lanes, with a design speed of 120 kmph and a 3.5-km emergency airstrip near Shahjahanpur for Indian Air Force operations. The expressway is expected to halve travel time between western and eastern UP from 10-12 hours to 6-7 hours and is the latest large-scale infrastructure project executed under the land-acquisition framework of the RFCTLARR Act, 2013.
Background
UP’s expressway grid — Yamuna Expressway (Greater Noida-Agra, 165 km, 2012), Agra-Lucknow Expressway (302 km, 2016), Purvanchal Expressway (340 km, 2021), Bundelkhand Expressway (296 km, 2022) and now Ganga Expressway (594 km, 2026) — has positioned the state as India’s most expressway-dense. The Ganga Expressway connects Meerut, Hapur, Bulandshahr, Amroha, Sambhal, Budaun, Shahjahanpur, Hardoi, Unnao, Rae Bareli, Pratapgarh and Prayagraj. Future Phase-2 will extend to Ballia and link to the Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor. The project required ~7,300 hectares of land acquisition, executed under RFCTLARR, 2013, with mandatory Social Impact Assessment, public hearings and the First Schedule compensation multiplier.
Key Facts at a Glance
- Length: 594 km (longest operational expressway in India).
- Endpoints: Meerut (NH-334) to Prayagraj (NH-19) — 12 districts.
- Cost: ~Rs 36,230 crore (some estimates Rs 36,402 crore).
- Configuration: 6-lane access-controlled, expandable to 8 lanes.
- Design speed: 120 kmph.
- Airstrip: 3.5 km near Shahjahanpur (IAF emergency landing).
- Executing agency: UPEIDA (under UP Industrial Area Development Act, 1976).
- Travel time reduction: 10-12 hrs → 6-7 hrs.
- Bharatmala link: Strengthens UP’s economic-corridor and inter-corridor connectivity under MoRTH’s flagship scheme.
Constitutional / Legal Framework
- RFCTLARR Act, 2013 — repealed the colonial Land Acquisition Act, 1894. Mandates Social Impact Assessment (§4-§9), consent (70% PPP / 80% private), enhanced compensation (1st Schedule), R&R entitlements (2nd Schedule), and infra amenities (3rd Schedule).
- Section 24(2) RFCTLARR — retrospective lapse of pre-2014 awards where compensation not paid AND possession not taken; clarified by Indore Development Authority v Manohar Lal (2020, 5-judge Constitution Bench).
- Article 19(1)(d) — freedom of movement throughout the territory of India; expressways operationalise this guarantee.
- Article 300A — right to property as a constitutional right (not fundamental, post 44th Amendment 1978); ‘no person shall be deprived of his property save by authority of law’.
- Article 21 — fair, just and reasonable procedure in deprivation of livelihood (Olga Tellis 1985) — engaged in displacement cases.
- Bharatmala Pariyojana (2017, MoRTH) — flagship highway programme (~Rs 5.35 lakh crore Phase-I) covering economic corridors, inter-corridor, feeder, expressway and border-roads.
- UP Industrial Area Development Act, 1976 — parent statute for UPEIDA.
- National Highways Act, 1956 — applies to NH projects (Ganga Expressway is a state expressway).
- Landmark cases: Indore Development Authority v Manohar Lal (2020); Pune Municipal Corp v Harakchand Misirimal Solanki (2014, since overruled); Olga Tellis v BMC (1985).
CLAT Relevance
- Legal Reasoning passage: RFCTLARR §24(2) lapse — apply to a 1990s-era 1894 Act award where compensation was deposited in court but possession not taken — resolves under Indore Development Authority (2020).
- Trap: RFCTLARR consent — 70% (PPP) vs 80% (purely private). Government projects need NO consent but DO need SIA + R&R.
- Article 300A trap: Right to property is NOT a fundamental right (post 44th Amendment) but is a constitutional right under Art 300A. Deprivation requires authority of law.
- GK fact: Yamuna (165) + Agra-Lucknow (302) + Purvanchal (340) + Bundelkhand (296) + Ganga (594) = ~1,697 km of UP expressway grid.
- Mnemonic for RFCTLARR Schedules: CRIE — Compensation (1), R&R (2), Infrastructure (3), Exempted laws (4 — 13 central acts).
- Application: If a farmer challenges acquisition citing inadequate SIA and consent below 80%, can a writ lie? — Yes, under Articles 226/300A, against UPEIDA.
Test Yourself
10 MCQs on RFCTLARR 2013, Article 19(1)(d), Bharatmala and India’s expressway infrastructure law:
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