Shillong, Feb 18: The Meghalaya High Court on Thursday asked the state government to engage with the Autonomous District Councils (ADCs) and come up with a plan of action for addressing the traffic congestion in the next five or ten years or even beyond.
“If it is necessary, the State government has to engage with the autonomous hill councils to improve the lot of the general people and to ensure that the possible problems are anticipated and a plan of action put in place for, say, five or ten years or even beyond,” the division bench said in its order.
Stating that there is no doubt that the executive has the exclusive authority to deal with matters pertaining to traffic congestion, the bench however said the regulation of vehicles and the plans in such regard that must be put in place upon taking the usual increase in number into account.
“Unfortunately, as in other matters pertaining to the preservation of the environment, tackling illegal mining operations in the State and the like, there does not appear to be any serious or concerted effort or roadmap of the State government in such key areas that require serious governance and immediate attention,” it also said.
While hearing a PIL filed by one Philip Khrawbok Shati, the bench has termed the report filed by the state through the Secretary, Home (Police) department as ‘fancy’.
It said the report incorporates aerial pictures of the major junctions and areas of traffic bottleneck in the city of Shillong, there is little by way of commitment, planning or measures spelt out to tackle the traffic problem in the State capital, which is the subject-matter of the present public interest litigation.
It said several sections of the report refer to certain development projects being in the offing, whether for parking or for regulating traffic or for making it easier for pedestrians, without any timeline or the slightest indication as to whether what is expressed in the report is a mere pipe dream.
The city of Shillong is bursting at its seams and there is no space to expand in view of the nature of the terrain.
The problem seems to be increasing with each passing day as the number of vehicles increases and, upon the curbs imposed due to the pandemic being eased, more and more people coming out.
The bench also pointed out that there is increasing footfall in Shillong, being the premier hill state.
However, the report does not indicate any previous plan or implementation thereof or even present plan and its implementation within the foreseeable future.
“Certain vague measures are indicated and it does not appear from the report as to whether the measures indicated have been accepted or adopted or proposed by the State government or there is anything official about such measures or their implementation,” it said.
“At the highest, the report can be treated as a preliminary wish-list that cries out for a more detailed roadmap with timelines to be indicated, not only to deal with the present problem but also to make projections and be able to deal with the situation that may arise in 2025 and even in 2030,” it added.
The bench further stated that it is a matter of concern that even though a previous petition pertaining to the traffic congestion and chaos in the city of Shillong was disposed of by an order dated November 15, 2019 with the Court exercising exemplary self-restraint by observing that no writ in the nature of mandamus could be issued as prayed for, the Court’s request to the State to consider the suggestions indicated in paragraphs 9 and 10 of the writ petition may have gone completely unheeded.
Indeed, there is no reference in the present report to the previous matter or the promises made by the State government as recorded in such order or even the request of the Court to consider the suggestions as put forth by the then writ petitioner, it said.
