Weighbridge ‘irregularities’
By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, June 13: The High Court of Meghalaya has directed the Principal Secretary of the Transport Department to properly scrutinise and take necessary action on the serious allegations raised by a petitioner regarding the operation of weighbridges across Meghalaya.
The case, filed as a public interest litigation (PIL), centres around alleged irregularities in the operation of weighbridges.
The petitioner, through his counsel Dr. P. Agarwal, alleged in court that many locations lack the required number of weighbridges, and that government officials at the 28 operational weighbridges are involved in illegal activities, including allowing overloaded goods vehicles to pass without being weighed, all with impunity.
According to the petitioner, such irregularities have resulted in a staggering revenue loss of Rs 640 crore to the state government.
The Division Bench, comprising Chief Justice IP Mukerji and Justice W. Diengdoh, had earlier directed the petitioner to respond to a report submitted by the State, which claimed that inspections had been carried out at 24 weighbridges and no overloaded trucks were found during those checks.
In response, the petitioner filed a detailed rejoinder, strongly challenging the State’s findings. Among the key concerns highlighted were the total absence of weighbridges at strategic locations, lack of proper equipment in several existing facilities, and reliance on manual—often inaccurate—methods of weighing.
The petitioner, in the rejoinder, also pointed out that goods are being transported to Bangladesh without proper weighment. For instance, the weighbridge at Dalu (Chaipani, Dalu) can only accommodate 10-wheeler trucks, while 12-wheeler trucks entering from Bhutan remain unweighed.
On the issue of inter-country goods transit between Bhutan, India and Bangladesh, counsel for the State argued that such movements are governed by an international treaty, limiting the Indian government’s powers in this matter.
The HC, however, stressed the significance of the alleged revenue loss, stating that it is a crucial element in the litigation.
“We direct the Principal Secretary, Transport Department, to properly scrutinise this response of the petitioner and file a counter-affidavit in this Court by July 5, dealing with the allegations and serving a copy thereof upon the petitioner before the next date of hearing fixed. The government is to take action in terms of the said allegations, if found by it to be true,” the HC said.
