High Court finds govt’s estimate on higher side

SHILLONG, June 29: The state government’s estimate of Rs 14 crore for a 7.7 kilometre state road comprising two lanes appears to be on the higher, taking into consideration the observation of the High Court of Meghalaya on Wednesday.
A division bench of the High Court was hearing a matter pertaining to the extension of the said road, with regard to which the state has said that the estimate has been made while, however, citing lack of funds to take up the project which is to cost in excess of Rs 14 crore.
Though the previous order of June 3 recorded the submission on behalf of the state that a request had been made for release of funds under the third phase of the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY), it was now submitted on behalf of the state that the allocation of funds has a cap for every area and the funds under the project for the relevant area have already been used up.
“The road is necessary. There can be no dispute regarding the same. It is the duty of the state to provide access, particularly in a hilly area. Without going into the details, the estimate of Rs 14 crore for a 7.7 km state road comprising two lanes appears to be on the higher side,” the Court said.
According to the division bench, in the absence of the road, the local residents do not have access to basic facilities and it ought to be the endeavour of the state to ensure that some form of a road is put in place so that basic access is provided.
The court will sit again four weeks hereon to ascertain whether the state has been able to make any headway, including approaching the North Eastern Council for release of funds for the purpose, if necessary.