Himachal Pradesh High Court tells power board to remove poles from roads

Expressing concern on the presence of electricity poles in the middle of roads, the Himachal Pradesh High Court has directed the Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board Ltd to furnish the details of all such areas, where electricity poles are located within the road, obstructing the free flow of traffic.

The court further directed the board to take necessary steps forthwith to remove such poles from the roads and file a status report by the next date of hearing.

A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice GS Sandhawalia and Justice Ranjan Sharma passed the order on a Public Interest Litigation on the basis of a communication highlighting the presence of an electricity pole in the middle of the road, apart from a solitary tree, in Paonta Sahib.

While seeking response of the electricity board, the court observed that “perusal of photographs would go on to show that there is apparent negligence on the part of the Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board in not removing the poles, at the time when the road was widened. Similarly, the State has permitted a full grown tree in the middle of the road. It has also been mentioned that some youths have lost their lives due to collision with the pole, which apparently was not visible at night”. The court directed the state government and electricity board to file response within four weeks and listed the matter for September 9.