SHILLONG: The recent order of High Court of Meghalaya to remove a tower and overhead high tension wires from the residence of a city based petitioner has far reaching consequences considering the rampant dangerous overhead wires in parts of city.
Justice SR Sen in his order on June 8 came up with a stringent but significant order in relation to the dangerous overhead high tension wires over residential areas in the capital city.
In the writ WP(C) 3640f 2014, Tokiwaio Blah vs the Meghalaya Energy Corporation Ltd (MECL), the Court had pointed out that from past experience there have been instances of snapping of high tension wires that had caused unnecessary loss of innocent lives.
The Court reminded the Government, that it is the primary and sacred duty of the Government as well as any authority even if it is a corporation (MeECL) to protect the life and property of citizens.
According to the Court, corporations must not think only of their benefits and conveniences but should also be aware of the safety and convenience of each and every citizen.
The Court ordered for the removal of the high tension wires and tower erected on the property of the petitioner.
The Court wanted the MeECL to look at the possible alternative of laying all its overhead wires underground.
As per earlier reports, the Meghalaya urban affairs department was also contemplating underground laying of all overhead wires in the city under the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT). The order of the Court assumes significance in this context.
An experiment in this regard was carried out by urban affairs depa
