By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, Sep 28: The High Court of Meghalaya has directed the state to let the deputy commissioner of the East Jaintia Hills district file a report on the extent of work carried out in Khliehriat and beyond up to Lumshnong in the south.
Pursuant to a previous order, an affidavit was filed on behalf of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) on September 27 indicating that its regional officer posted in Guwahati visited the site on September 16.
Recalling that specific instructions were issued on September 19 to one of the contractors and to the project director of NHAI to take immediate short-term measures to make the entire stretch of NH-6 from Jowai to Ratacherra traffic-worthy, the court underlined the emphasis in the relevant letters on the two critical locations in Khliehriat and near the tunnel at Sonapyrdi.
“The regional officer’s letter requires the critical stretches, where this court had previously observed that there was no sign of any road, to be repaired by October 15 and the short-term repair work of the entire 57 km stretch is to be completed by November 15,” the court of Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice B. Bhattacharjee observed.
The court hoped that appropriate funds would be released for the work to be taken up on a war footing and on a daily basis.
Making it clear that it is not really interested in the letters exchanged between the NHAI officials or the written instructions issued to contractors, the court said it is more important to note when the work starts and when the stretch of the road is made somewhat motorable and strengthened thereafter.
The matter has been listed on October 5 for both the petitioner, Kynjaimon Amse and the NHAI to indicate the extent of work undertaken till then.
