Traffic jams in Shillong city and the national high
ways has reached such a deplorable situation that
even the Shillong Bench of the Gauhati High Court has taken cognisance of it. A suo moto case against the State Government was filed by none other than Justice T Vaiphei against the traffic jams along the Shillong-Guwahati highway. The Government has been asked to respond in court.
Chief Secretary WMS Pariat, while commenting on the State Government’s response, said, “We have submitted the report as directed by the court.”
Justice T Vaiphei, of the Gauhati High Court, had earlier, stated that he would file a suo moto case against the concerned authorities after he was caught for nine hours in a road-block on the Shillong-Guwahati highway. He filed the case keeping in view the enormous traffic jams all along the city as well as the two important highways that connect Meghalaya with other states.
According to Pariat, the detailed report has been submitted after getting inputs from all the concerned departments. “We hope that there will be a hearing soon on the matter,” he added.
When contacted, an official from the Shillong bench of the Gauhati High Court surprisingly stated that nothing has come up before the court so far.
The incident however is an embarrassment for the State, as it has hardly been a precedence elsewhere that a suo moto case is filed by a high court judge against the State Government for an issue like traffic congestion.