Himachal: Panel examining causes of landslides, NHAI tells court

Legal Correspondent

Shimla, September 25

With a view to examine the problems of landslides, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has constituted a committee of expert.

This was informed by the NHAI to the court. It was further brought to the notice of the court that while constituting the expert committee, experts of the Border Road Organization (BRO) as well as the Engineers India Limited (EIL) have also been associated.

Appreciating the effort of the NHAI, a division bench comprising Chief Justice MS Ramachandra Rao and Justice Ajay Mohan Goel observed, “We appreciate the involvement of these agencies with the Expert Committee and we hope that the Expert Committee, as expeditiously as possible, would suggest measures which can be implemented to remedy the current landslide problem and also prevent recurrence of the landslides problem on the national highways and other roads maintained by the HPPWD as well as the state government.”

During the course of hearing, it was informed that the status reports have been filed by the NHAI as well as the state government. After taking on record the court asked the Amicus Curiae (Court Friend) and other counsel for the respondents to go through the status reports and make appropriate suggestions, including the suggestions as to invoking provisions of the Disaster Management Act, where under the Deputy Commissioner is said to be empowered to enable removal of debris/muck from the sites in questions to other places so that more road area is available for plying the vehicles.

The court also directed the Union Ministry of Environment to expeditiously consider the request made by the state government for forest clearance for sites where dumping of muck has to be done by the NHAI to make the roads available for use and listed the matter for further consideration on October 13.

The court was hearing a Public Interest Litigation on the issue of national highways construction by the NHAI and its contractors as well as state roads by HPPWD contractors. It was alleged in the PIL that the construction works being undertaken are unscientific and cause loss and damage to the hills of the state.

‘Construction unscientific’

The court was hearing a public interest litigation on the issue of national highways’ construction by the NHAI and its contractors as well as state roads by HPPWD contractors. It was alleged in the PIL that the construction projects being undertaken were unscientific and caused loss and damage to the hills in the state.