By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, Nov 7: The High Court of Meghalaya on Thursday allowed NHIDCL and the contractor concerned to proceed with building the first part or package of the proposed Shillong-Dawki highway with all other work except felling of trees, for the time being.
The court said the public interest litigation (PIL) filed by Kaustav Paul is connected only with constructing the highway from Shillong to Dawki near the Bangladesh border.
The entire work involves the widening and reconstruction of the existing road. The proposed highway has been divided into five parts, described in the project documents as five packages.
The bench of Chief Justice Indra Prasanna Mukerji and Justice Wanlura Diengdoh said the court is concerned with the first of the five packages, that is the stretch between Rilbong and Mylliem Marbaniang covering 11.6 km. “This order shall not relate to other packages,” it said.
The petitioner said the existing road is lined up with very old and precious trees which are not only priceless but also contribute to the natural beauty of the landscape. He added that the plan of the highway in this stretch involves large-scale felling of these trees.
“In previous orders of this court, we had made it clear that till the National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL) took a conclusive decision to go ahead with and complete the project, felling of the trees would remain stalled and accordingly, there has been no felling of trees in this stretch up to this point of time,” the bench said.
The court said it considered a report filed by the state government, as sought by it.
The Court also heard N Mozika, the Deputy Solicitor General who appeared for the NHIDCL and brought some facts to light from his submission and that of K Khan, the Additional Advocate General.
“As far as the first stretch is concerned acquisition of land by the state and its handing over to the NHIDCL are complete; the contractor who was entrusted with the work for the first package covering 11.6 km has been discharged and replaced by a new contractor on 25th September, 2023, with a timeline of two years from the date of commencement of the contract that is 23rd October, 2023, to complete the work; and till date about 16.5 per cent of the work has been done and 14.3 per cent of the financial allocation expended for this purpose,” the court said.
Paul submitted that the people of the area whom he represents in the PIL do not have any objection to the highway but would pray for appropriate afforestation to be done in that particular area to maintain the ecological balance and environmental beauty.
The court considered the submissions of the counsel for the parties.
It said the NHIDCL and the contractor are free to work on the first part or package of the proposed highway and all other work except felling of trees.
The bench asked the NHIDCL and the state government to file a joint report in the court by November 29, disclosing proposed afforestation in the area around the first package with all necessary details.
The PIL has been listed on December 3 to seek the approval of the afforestation proposal and for further directions to proceed with construction and completion of the highway in package one.