From PNI Correspondent Mangaldai
Mangaldai : Socially sensitive a group of four Lawyers of Mangaldai Bar have demanded the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) and the State PWD NH(works) department to declare the proposed bypass of NH-15 outside the Mangaldai town in Darrang district as Green Highway as per the provision of the relevant policy adopted in 2015 . The four legal practitioners namely Jayanta Deka , Jatin Nath , Nirod Deka and Nayanmani Deka in two separate memorandum addressed to the Nodal Officer for Public Grievances , NHAI , New Delhi and Chief Engineer , PWD , NH(Works) have submitted four charter of demands including declaration of the proposed bypass starting from Chengeliapara village on the west and Daksaki village on the East as a Green Highway as per the policy of the Ministry of the Road Transport and Highways (MORTH) , Govt of India adopted in year 2015, to issue necessary direction to the officer concern for preparation of the DPR (Detailed Project Report) to incorporate the matter of translocation/transplantation of matured trees from the land acquired by MORTH for construction of the project, completion of tree translocation process within next four months and if necessary pressing the service of more than one empanelled agencies and incorporation of a plan in the DPR for plantation of indigeneous medicinal plants on both sides of the project in addition to translocation of old mature indigeneous trees .
The petitioners have pointed out that MORTH in order to maintain a balance between the giant infrastructural project and the surrounding ecology adopted a strategy called Green Highway (Plantation , Transplantation , Beautification and Maintenance ) Policy,2015. Subsequently , this policy came into the practice during the execution of several major construction projects in other states like Andhra Pradesh , Gujarat and Karnataka undertaken in recent times including the Metro Railway Project of Hyderabad in 2017 where nearly one thousand nos of matured tree were successfully translocated and almost all these trees are thriving in the new location.
Meanwhile talking to this correspondent on Wednesday one of the petitioner Lawyer said that after a long demand of the people of Mangaldai town the government has proposed to construct a 12 km long bypass beginning at village Chengeliapara and passing through eight other villages like Boinaojapara, Saruthekerabari , Borkumarpara , Kamarpara , Mowamari , Gerimari , Baghpori , Bandia and Ondolajhar and ending at Daksaki . “ The land acquisition process began and the authority u/s 3A of Highways Act 1956 expressing intention to acquire land of the said villages has issued notification on July 23 with August 13 last as the last date of submission of any objection . Meanwhile the authority has received only one objection.”, Deka added.
