The High Court came down heavily on the Collector and Arbitrator for the inordinate procedural delays in deciding an enhancement-of-compensation plea filed by Antonio Florencio do Rosario, an 85-year-old senior citizen whose land was acquired for the New Zuari Bridge project. While disposing of the petition, the High Court imposed a strict deadline, directing the Collector of North Goa to decide the pending arbitration application by December 15, 2026. The petitioner’s counsel, Advocates Gaurish Agni and Ankur Kumar, submitted that the petitioner’s land, situated under Survey Nos. 202/2 and 202/3 in Goa Velha village, Tiswadi Taluka, was acquired in 2018 for the construction of National Highway 66 (NH-66) and the approach road to the new Zuari Bridge. Aggrieved by the initial award, Rosario approached the statutory arbitrator in 2019 under Section 3G(5) of the National Highways Act, 1956, seeking enhanced compensation. The High Court noted that the arbitration proceedings had remained dormant from 2021 until June 2023. Even after their revival on June 13, 2023, the matter remained unresolved more than three years later. “We have perused the Roznama and find no reason why the matter has been adjourned from month to month when it should have been disposed of with greater haste,” the High Court observed, underscoring that the applicant is an octogenarian who has been made to wait through five long years of delays. The High Court also addressed a pending report concerning debris dumped on Rosario’s land. The Arbitrator had sought the report from the Tiswadi Mamlatdar on August 19, 2026, but had not yet received it. The Court directed the Mamlatdar of Tiswadi to conduct a site inspection and submit the report within one week. The Collector of North Goa has been ordered to submit a formal compliance report to the High Court’s Registrar (Judicial) by December 20, 2026.