The civic body will have to shell out more than Rs 8 crore as compensation to the owner of a private plot for extension of Tolstoy Marg from Janpath to Sansad Marg, along Jantar Mantar. This extension was planned in 1967 for managing the traffic between Connaught Place and Sansad Marg.

When constructed in 1975, the project cost of the stretch came to Rs 22 lakh; the original compensation rate was fixed at Rs 11.2 lakh for the 2.4 acres the NDMC had acquired from the owners.

But a delay in paying the compensation resulted in a lawsuit, which was disposed of after 33 years. The NDMC finally cleared the payment last month.

The clearance came following a court order — the Delhi High Court ordered the civic body last May to either return the property to its owners or pay damages, calculated at Rs 8.18 crore at present value.

The owner of the land in question, Guru Nanak Vidya Bhandar Trust, had filed the lawsuit in 1974. The Trust owns 0.834 acres along the road, built by cutting through five other private plots.

“They (NDMC officials) came one night and informed us that part of the property was being taken over for construction of the road,” said Simran Bhargav, daughter of Dr Gurmeet Singh who runs the Trust which funds a school in Daryaganj. “The compensation amount was never sanctioned; it was prime land that we used to generate funds for our Trust.”

The property currently remains unused. Bhargav said the Trust works for “education of the underprivileged”.

The civic body had built the road and pavements on 2.4 acres taken from private owners. The original compensation was fixed at Rs 5 lakh per acre.

Civic officials, on their part, blamed inter-departmental hurdles for the delay. “The road was supposed to be a masterplan road,” an NDMC official said. “But since the land was private property, it had to be acquired by the land and development office and then handed over to the NDMC. Paperwork and litigation delayed the settlement and now the civic body has to pay Rs 8 crore. It could be sorted out for much less earlier,” he added.

But the civic agency may face further litigation, for Bhargav claims the property is worth more than Rs 8 crore and is contemplating moving the court again. “This is Lutyens’ Delhi land we are talking about. The property costs over Rs 150 crore today,” she said.