Shillong, Nov 6: The High Court lof Meghalaya wanted the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) to repair the damaged portion of the 102.255 km national highway (NH -6) within two months.
After hearing a pending PIL filed by late advocate Kynjaimon Amse , the court said on Wednesday, “In those circumstances, we direct that the very badly damaged portion of the section of the highway stretching about 5 km should be repaired or reconstructed by NHAI within two months of communication of this order.”
“Within two weeks of communication of this order, emergency measures have to be taken by NHAI so that till the regular work is carried out, the said part of the highway is reasonably pliable by vehicles. The rest of the 45 km should be completed way before the onset of the next monsoon, within five months from date. The authority should ensure that work done is of such quality that it is not easily damaged by rain and other weather conditions in future,” it said.
The court said it has no doubt that the NHAI has every good intention to carry out our order. “However, we are constrained to remark that the pace at which the work is progressing is rather slow,” it said.
The court also mentioned that the highway between Jowai and Ratacherra is a kind of lifeline for Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram.
Suraj Panthi, Advocate, Amicus Curiae has submitted a report and photographs which show some portion of the highway NH -6 in a severely damaged condition, so much so that it would be impossible for vehicles to pass.
But the report does not mention the location of this portion.
S Sengupta, counsel appearing for National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) submitted that if this location was indicated, he could have instructed his client to take immediate suitable measures.
In that view of the matter, the court has requested S Panthi, Amicus curiae to immediately inform the NHAI about the location and approximate length of this part of the damaged highway.
Further to orders of the ourt, the NHAI has also filed a report in the court. The photographs of this report however, show that extensive road construction, repair and maintenance work has been
undertaken by the said authority in NH-6.
“The damaged portion as pointed out by the Amicus Curiae is about 45 km out of 102.255 km. The very badly damaged portion as indicated earlier covers about 5 km. According to the report of the said authority, 2 km of the stretch of the highway has been strengthened by undertaking bituminous work, 7 km of drains have been constructed and “reinforcement binding for 5 km of drain construction” is in progress,” the court said.
