The Rajasthan High Court has dismissed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) petition challenging the installation of transmission lines by Power Grid Corporation of India Limited over some wards of Village Doojod, District Sikar.
The petitioners argued that the laying of transmission lines was against public interest, as the survey report did not consider the feasibility of laying lines overhead in District Sikar.
They also claimed that the policy mandating exploration of alternative routes was not followed, and that substantial objections from the local administration and public were ignored.
However, the respondent Power Grid Corporation of India Limited countered the petition was based on exaggerated facts and did not allege any violation of statutory provisions.
They also submitted that the transmission lines were being laid over wards that were not thickly populated, and that the larger public interest lay in facilitating the transmission of power.
The High Court, after examining the petition and the submissions of the parties, found that none of the grounds taken in the petition led to a violation of any statutory provisions.
The Court also noted that the Google Map indicated that the population underneath was scattered, and that the distance of medical colleges and other places was such that it could not be said to be a case of causing public harm.
The Court further observed that the objections raised from different corners, including the administration, were considered by the competent authority of the respondent-Corporation.
The Jaipur Division Bench of Chief Justice Manindra Mohan Shrivastava and Justice Uma Shanker Vyas held that it would not act as an appellate authority to sit over the correctness or otherwise of the opinion formed on various objections.
In view of the above, the High Court dismissed the PIL petition, holding that it was misconceived.