The Gauhati High Court has directed the petitioners, living near the railway track running from Dibrugarh to Tinsukia in Assam, to approach the state government for construction of an alternate road, as they were facing difficulty in using the Assam Trunk Road from the other side of the railway track.
The PIL has been filed by Prafulla Chetia and four others, residing on the left side of the 45-km long stretch of railway track running from Dibrugarh to Tinsukia in Assam, in the district of Dibrugarh.
The Division Bench, comprising Chief Justice Sudhanshu Dhuliya and Justice Manash Ranjan Pathak, while considering the PIL on September 2, noted that the state government has been made party respondents and the state respondents have filed counter affidavit in the petition.
Although the petitioners reside on the left side of railway track and the road lies on the other side, there are 28 Railway Level Crossings and therefore, the petitioners have actually no difficulty in using the road on the other side of railway track, the Court observed.
“Under this circumstance, we are not in a position to interfere with the matter,” noted the Bench.
The Standing Counsel of Railway informed the Court that there are already proposals made by the Railways to the State Government for constructing a road on the left side of the railway track.
Also Read: Rajasthan High Court stays construction of roads passing through any lake in Udaipur
“We say nothing on this. It is for the State Government to decide on this aspect, considering the financial aspect and other relevant matters. Since the Railways has already made proposals to the State Government for construction of a road, as we have been informed by the Standing Counsel for the Railways, the issue involved in the present PIL is taken care of and, accordingly, the PIL is closed. The petitioners will always be at liberty to approach the state government for the purpose of construction of the road,” the order read.
The case of the petitioners is that the Assam Trunk Road lies on the other side of the railway track and there are only a few places for ingress (entering) and egress (leaving) for the petitioners in case they want to use the road, as a result of which the petitioners have been facing difficulty.