SHILLONG, June 10: A Division Bench of the High Court of Meghalaya has ordered the state government to take appropriate measures to prevent overloaded trucks from plying on the roads to prevent the roads from suffering serious damage, particularly during the monsoon season.
Hearing a PIL on the matter on Friday, the division bench of the court, consisting of Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice W Diengdoh, took note of the affidavit filed by the state government, pursuant to an order issued on May 2, mentioning the laws in place to prevent overloaded trucks from plying.
In its affidavit the state government said several check posts have been set up or are in the process of being set up but because of lack of resources the ideal manning of such checkpoints or the continuous inspection of goods vehicles may not have been possible.
The state also submitted that appropriate steps are being taken to ensure that the laws are adhered to and appropriate personnel are engaged to ensure the implementation. No satisfied with the government’s response, the petitioner in the case (Tennydard M Marak) submitted that though the laws are in place, the actual problem is in the implementation thereof.
The petitioner alleged that there is hardly any check conducted to stop illegal movement of goods or to ensure that goods vehicles adhere to the weight limits or specifications.
“It is necessary that the state be required to produce the records pertaining to any checkpoint in the Garo Hills districts for the month of November, 2021. Similar records from any checkpoint in the Jaintia Hills districts for the month of January, 2022 should be produced and from any of the Khasi Hills districts for the month of March, 2022. These records, preferably in digital form, should be produced when the matter is taken up a week hence,” the court said.
In the meantime, the court asked the state to ensure appropriate measures are taken to check overloaded trucks, particularly since they cause serious damage to the roads in the monsoon season.
It is pertinent to note that in an earlier order, the court had asserted that it did not want to behave like a headmaster dealing with adolescent school students, and had issued an ultimatum to Chief Secretary, RV Suchiang, directing her to file an affidavit sought for by the court within one week.
The court had taken strong cognizance of the failure of the chief secretary to file an affidavit on the movement of coal in the state, as directed by the court earlier.
Giving the chief secretary a last chance to file the affidavit within a week, the division bench said, “The court has the authority, in such circumstances, to have the responsible officer paraded in Court for the repeated failure to comply with the directions.”
“The chief secretary will report to the Registrar General for such purpose. Let this be an example so that there is no further dereliction of such kind on the part of the state in adhering to directions for filing affidavits,” the court had said.
The PIL filed by Marak, a social activist, in February 2022 pertains to the movement of coal in the state. The petitioner had asserted that illegally mined coal is transported in heavy vehicles without following the procedure prescribed under the Motor Vehicle Act, 1988 or the rules there under.
The court said it is distressing that despite the previous directions and an extension granted on February 14, 2022, the state’s affidavit has not been filed.
