Gauhati HC seeks clarity on Kaliabor-Numaligarh Nat'l Highway 4-laning dispute

Guwahati, Jan 21: Hearing two PILs which have challenged the proposed new alignment of the national highway four-laning between Kaliabor and Numaligarh, the Gauhati High Court has sought clarification from the Union government as well as the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI).

The petitions have been filed by Pradip Chandra Choudhury and 64 others.

It was contended by the senior counsel appearing for the petitioners that in a meeting held on October 19 last year, NHAI officials had clarified that the expansion of the National Highway No. 715 (old No. 37) into a four-lane highway is a 'brownfield' project having a provision of two bypasses.

"Once the ministry has clarified that the project is a brownfield one, there is no reason for the respondent authorities to construct or expand the national highway on a new alignment instead of the existing alignment," the petitioners said.

According to the petitioners, a vested section of influential persons possessing vast agriculture lands in the area had used external pressure on the consultants to divert the road with a new alignment through agricultural land and elephant corridor.

The petitioners further alleged that a notification was issued under Section 3A(1) of the National Highways Act, 1956, declaring its intension to acquire the land at villages such as Darigaji and Kanchanjuri where private firms own land. The new alignment will also cost a huge amount of public money, they said.

Issuing notices to the respondents on Monday, a division bench of Chief Justice Vijay Bishnoi and Justice Kaushik Goswami has sought their responses within two weeks.

- By Staff Reporter