Shillong, March 31: The High Court of Meghalaya has criticised the state government for failing to check the overloading of vehicles.
While hearing a PIL filed by activist Tennydard Marak, the court on Friday directed all superintendents of police to take action against overladen trucks plying in the state.
“The state said that a blueprint has been prepared and that acquiring a set of electronic weigh-pads would set the state back by Rs.27 lakh. However, considering the cost per kilometre of construction of road, the hilly terrain in the state and the almost incessant rain that the state receives for nearly six months, there can be no excuse for not making appropriate investment to check the menace,” the division bench said in its order.
The court said the superintendents of police in all districts should be made aware and appropriately instructed to check, even on physical appearance, the overladen trucks. “Once such a drive is undertaken and some trucks are stopped and not permitted to carry on without relieving the additional load, others may fall in line”, he said.
The bench, however, said unfortunately the state’s action in checking overloaded vehicles has been less than satisfactory and it is hoped that some actual steps would be taken on the ground in such regard. The state has been asked to file a report before May 3.
It said despite several reports filed by the state and the petitioner insisting that little has been done to check the overloading of vehicles along the principal arterial routes in the state, there is no apparent improvement in the situation.
The immediate previous report indicated that there were some 16 or so weighbridges functional in the state and that by the end of this month, the number of functional weighbridges would be increased.
The state submitted that 19 weighbridges are functional and another four are about to be made workable within the next fortnight or so.
At the same time, it cannot be missed that in several parts of the state, particularly around Pynursla, Shella, Dawki and Nongstoin, vehicles carrying boulders and even sand filled to the brim and more of heavy metal bodied trucks operate brazenly with no checks in place.
The bench said even without weighbridges, it is obvious that such vehicles, sometimes bearing no registration plates, do not conform to the weight limits but the local administration, for obvious reasons, turns a Nelson’s eye to the same.
There are pockets, particularly around Pynursla, where a thousand trucks may be seen to be parked at a time, all meant to carry boulders and even sand to Bangladesh and probably not one of them adhering to the weight norms. Elsewhere overloaded vehicles carry timber. While there may have been some improvement in some of the goods vehicles being covered, one suspects that the cover may more often be to hide the transportation of coal than to ensure safety, it said.
Indeed, the overladen vehicles carrying boulders look so dangerous that if they were suddenly to brake, the boulders on top would invariably shower behind and smash any lesser vehicle or kill pedestrians, the bench said.
Jowai bypass
The repairing of the Jowai bypass will be completed by June, this year.
This was informed before the Meghalaya High Court on Friday, during the hearing on a PIL filed by Kynjaimon Amse.
The Additional Advocate General submitted that the contractor, who had abandoned the site upon disagreement pertaining to the extent of work, has returned and the work order has now been issued for the repair work on the bypass from Thadlaskein to Mihmyntdu to be completed by June, 2023.
The bench directed that the matter will again appear in the first week of June to ascertain the progress already made.
Umroi airport
A fresh inquiry has been directed to be conducted by the District Judge, Ri Bhoi to ascertain whether any overpayment was made to any of the land-losers regarding the land acquisition for the expansion of the Umroi airport.
The inquiry was as per a recent order passed by the Meghalaya High Court on February 21, this year.
The court had initiated the inquiry presided over by the then District Judge, Ri Bhoi pursuant to a direction issued by the Supreme Court.
The object of the exercise was to ascertain if, and to what extent, land-losers had been overpaid for the additional land that was acquired for the expansion of the airport.
