Staff Reporter
Guwahati: The Gauhati High Court on Monday directed the central government and National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), the respondents in two PIL petitions, to clarify their stands on the alignment of National Highway No. 715 from Kaliabor Tiniali to Numaligarh. This stretch of NH 715 (Old NH 37) is being widened into a four-lane highway.
The division bench of Chief Justice Vijay Bishnoi and Justice Kaushik Goswami heard the counsels appearing for the parties in two PIL petitions (Nos. 38/2024 and 61/2024) filed by the petitioners being aggrieved with the decision of the respondent authorities in granting their approval to a new alignment of the NH 715 for its expansion into a four-lane highway from Kaliabor Tiniali to Numaligarh.
While entertaining the PIL petitions at the initial stage, the court opined that so far as the issue of construction of new highways and widening and development of the existing highways is concerned, it is purely within the domain of the experts of the NHAI, and normally the courts cannot interfere with the same while exercising extraordinary writ jurisdiction.
The counsel for the petitioners argued that though this court has limited jurisdiction in respect of the alignment of the National Highways, in the present case the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH), Government of India, has published a list of highways in the country, and, as per the same, the NH 715 starts from its junction with NH-15 near Tezpur, connecting Jakhalabandha, Bokakhat, and Jorhat and terminating at its junction with NH-2 near Jhanji in Assam. However, now the respondent agencies are constructing the NH 715 not on the above-mentioned but on a different alignment.
It was also contended by the senior counsel appearing for the petitioners in PIL 38/2024 that in a meeting held on October 19, 2024, between the Minister of Transport & Fisheries, etc., of Assam, NHAI officials, and the representatives of the area concerned, the NHAI officials clarified that the expansion of the NH 715 into a four-lane highway is a Brown Field project having a provision of two bypasses.
It was submitted that, as per the clarification issued by MoRTH, the widening and development of an existing road/highway is categorised as a Brown Field project, whereas construction of a highway on a new alignment is categorised as a Green Field project.
The counsel for the petitioners submitted that once MoRTH has clarified that the concerned project is a Brown Field project, there is no reason for the respondent authorities to construct or expand the NH 715 on a new alignment instead of the existing alignment.
After considering the submissions advanced by the counsel for the petitioners, the court was of the view that the respondent Union of India as well as the NHAI should clarify their stands on the issues raised by the petitioners in these PIL petitions.
Hence, the court directed R.K.D. Choudhury, Deputy Solicitor General of India, as well as C. Boruah, standing counsel of NHAI, to submit their response to the writ petitions within a period of two weeks from today.
Moreover, these petitions were listed next on February 6, 2025.
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