Strict stance by Kerala HC on highway widening
A Kerala High court division bench comprising Chief Justice Manjula Chellur and Justice P R Ramachandra Menon on Monday questioned the inactivity of the state government regarding widening of national highways to 45 metres.
The bench stated that land for the highways had been acquired years ago. The central and state governments have both provided a feeble defence, the bench said. It ordered them to file statements providing reasons for the delay.
In an affidavit filed by the Public Works Department, the state government has mentioned that its policy decision is to widen the highways to 45 metres where possible, and no decision has been taken against this stand.
The government had informed the court on January 28th of the decision to widen NH47 and NH17 to 45 metres, on a Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) basis. It said that the central government had withdrawn from land acquisition in certain places due to widespread opposition. It also stated that further discussion with the central government is necessary for this purpose.
Source: The Times of India
Build-Operate-Transfer, Build-Operate-Transfer basis, Kerala High Court, Public works department, Public Works Department (PWD), State public works department guidelines
