Jaipal Singh, 46, holds an unusual job. There is always a fear of animals, of people attempting to jump inside the premises for theft, not to mention the noise of vehicles passing by at speeds of up to 100 kmph on the Delhi-Dehradun Expressway, inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 14.
And yet, there is the weight of lingering loneliness.
For the last four years, Jaipal has been guarding a two-storey house spread across almost 1,600 sq m in Mandola near Loni in Ghaziabad. In a sense, it is a no-man’s land, as it falls in the middle of a service road for the 213-km expressway.
Along the roadside, large concrete barriers pronounce details about the house and a High Court stay on the matter. On the other side of these barriers, a terracotta-coloured pillar of the house’s entry gate holds a plaque that reads: “Swabhiman (self-respect)”.
It takes a loud shout from outside to make Jaipal come to the gate, a black scarf wrapped around his head. “This gate opens only when the owners come,” he explains. “Nobody can come inside, whether police or NHAI. The court has granted protection. Iss desh mein abhi bhi kanoon hai (There is still law in this country),” says the 46-year-old.
The Sarohas have refused to give up their 1,600 sq m house and area around it along the Delhi-Dehradun Expressway
A resident of Kanpur Dehat, Jaipal has been working at the house since 2022, after the death of its owner Dr Veersen Saroha, employed through a Gurgaon-based security company. Saroha’s grandson Lakshyaveer Saroha, who lives in Noida, now owns the house.
The two-storey structure is almost empty, says Jaipal, adding that he cleans it daily and leaves the premises briefly just for food, to a market about 1.5 km away. For company, he calls up his family, or listens to the radio on his phone.
“My son came once, but he got very afraid and went back. Sabke bas ki baat nahin hai yahan kaam kar paana (Not everybody can work here),” says Jaipal.
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Back in 1998, when the expressway was just a small state highway and many houses stood around ‘Swabhiman’, the Uttar Pradesh Housing Board issued a notification to acquire 2,614 acres of land from six villages in the region for its Mandola housing scheme. It offered Rs 1,100 per sq m. There were protests, but gradually almost all the farmers gave up their land.
However, Veersen did not budge and approached the Allahabad High Court in 2007, seeking higher compensation for his house – Khasra No. 2558/2. Including the 1,600 sq m covered area, the Saroha property spans 8 bighas, with nearly 500 trees of various types growing on it.
The court stayed the acquisition.
While the housing scheme could not be completed, around 2020, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) planned a 213-km expressway from Akshardham in Delhi to Dehradun in Uttarakhand, and the Saroha house fell in its path.
The agency needed the land to construct a service road for vehicles coming from Dehradun to exit at Mandola and head towards Panchlok near Loni.
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With the matter in the High Court pending, Lakshyaveer approached the Supreme Court in 2024, citing that there was imminent threat of demolition of his house. On September 2, 2024, the Court ordered that the status quo be maintained, with no demolition or any further construction.
The Supreme Court also asked the High Court to expedite the hearing of the case. The latest order in the matter was passed by the Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court on January 28, 2026, which fixed another date for further hearing.
On the service road where the house now stands, many commuters, especially bikers, try to cross the concrete barricades 500 metres before it, only to turn back realising there is no shortcut. What exists is a detour of over 1 km, which bypasses the house and reconnects with the expressway further ahead near Panchlok.
A family member who did not wish to be named says: “This house is the last of his (Veersen’s) memories. How can we give it away for Rs 1,100 per sq m, when the current market rate is over Rs 50,000 per sq m? The problem was created by the UP Housing and Development Board. Now the NHAI is saying they will give us just the cost of the demolition of the house, and the land cost to the housing board.”
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On some dubbing the house a “hindrance” to a project of national importance, she says: “As an Indian citizen, we have no such intention. But we cannot accept this injustice.”
A senior NHAI official points out that the house as it stands “causes no obstruction to the main carriageway of the expressway”. Adding that compensation has been awarded to stakeholders as per the law, the official says: “In this case, further action can be taken only after the court order.”
The 213-km expressway, seen as an economic corridor, was built in four phases, at a cost of Rs 12,000 crore, and has reduced the travel time between Delhi and Dehradun from 6 hours to 2.5 hours.
