PBO skips court hearing on Umroi delay

SHILLONG:  Chief Secretary PBO Warjri on Thursday failed to appear before the High Court of Meghalaya in connection with a case pertaining to undue delay in completing the expansion work of Umroi airport despite court directive. During the hearing of a pending suo moto case regarding undue delay in completing the expansion work of the airport, Chief Justice Uma Nath Singh asked the Advocate General to intimate Warjri to be present in the court at  2 pm.
However, the Chief Secretary skipped the hearing on the pretext that he had a pre-arranged engagement with the Cabinet Secretary of the Union Government.
Earlier this year, the full bench of the Meghalaya High Court had directed the Meghalaya government to demolish the buildings which are impeding the project of expansion of Shillong Airport at Umroi.
The High Court  had also stated that the Deputy Commissioner has said that she has made all necessary arrangements for carrying out the demolition and also asked the Superintendent of Police, Ri Bhoi District, to ensure maintenance of law and order during and after the demolition drive.
The High Court also directed that the construction of the boundary wall shall be completed within a minimum period of three months and the Airport Authority of India shall have the liberty to inform the Court in case the construction agency causes delay in construction, or is found to compromise with the quality of such construction.