Staff Reporter
GUWAHATI: The Leader of Opposition in the Assam Legislative Assembly, Debabrata Saikia, submitted a petition to the Chief Justice of the Gauhati High Court, Justice Vijay Bishnoi, today seeking an urgent directive to the Assam Government to stop the construction of the Noonmati-Dighalipukhuri Flyover Project till the state government provides a comprehensive plan to address the project’s effect on air pollution, dust control, noise pollution, water drainage, and traffic congestion.
In his petition to Chief Justice, Saikia also sought the Gauhati High Court to issue strict instructions to the Assam government and its appropriate authorities to establish a traffic and environmental management plan that would minimise the impact on the environment and local population by limiting dust emissions, controlling water logging, and reducing noise pollution.
The petition also sought the court to ensure the appointment of a committee of environmental experts to evaluate the project’s present environmental effects and offer suggestions for future environment-friendly building techniques that the government should follow. It also wants the court to instruct the state government to give vendors and others who will lose their jobs while this flyover is being built adequate compensation and alternative means of livelihoods.
The other demands that the petition sought are directing the Assam Government to develop a comprehensive traffic management plan that guarantees the safe and efficient flow of vehicles and pedestrians through the impacted regions, with the public being given clear alternative routes and schedules. It also wants that the project conforms to all applicable local environmental protection regulations and that sufficient reforestation and greening efforts are carried out to replace any trees that have already been pulled down for the construction of this flyover.
The petition sought yet other instructions from the court to the state government that to preserve the heritage sites in and around the Noonmati to Dighaliphuri route and to refrain from removing any trees in order to build this flyover.
The Assam government unveiled an ambitious plan on January 1 of this year that includes eight projects, including flyovers sought to be launched throughout the year in various parts of the state. “The plan aims to address a number of issues and increase the state GDP from Rs. 5.65 lakh crore in the previous year to Rs. 6.38 lakh crore in 2024. The Dighalipukhuri to Noonmati Flyover, a 5.44-kilometre elevated corridor with an estimated cost of Rs. 852 crore, is scheduled to be completed by 2026 and is one of these projects,” Saikia said.
That though the stated aim of this Noonmati-Dighalipukhuri flyover is to ease the transportation bottleneck in the city, the same is proving counterproductive and detrimental to the public in many ways, Saikia said.
According to Saikia, the quality of life and environmental stability have been jeopardised by the continuous construction works, which have resulted in significant air and noise pollution, prolonged traffic congestion, dust pollution, water logging in the neighbouring communities, and even the systematic displacement of innumerable numbers of vendors from their livelihood.
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