The Madras High Court disposed of a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed in the year 2016 seeking directions against the respondents to maintain the stretch of NH-208 passing through Rajapalayam Town without any encroachment and so also seeks directions to shift the electricity poles, transformers and wire lines to the margin of the Highway land and thereby, ensuring free flow of traffic.
The National Highways has filed an affidavit.
It states that on 30.01.2024, notices have been issued to the encroachers and the steps are being undertaken to remove the encroachments on the National Highways in question.
The National Highways Authority of India has also communicated with the Divisional Engineer, National Highways, Virudhunagar, for inspection and shifting of the Electricity Board utilities and to file a detailed report.
“We may understand that shifting of electricity poles and lines would not be easy. Thus, the TANGEDCO and the National Highways Authority will have to co-ordinate and take steps for shifting if the same is essential.
However, as observed above, the notices have been issued to the encroachers, the authorities shall take the said proceedings for removal of encroachers to its logical end as expeditiously as possible”, the Division Bench of Chief Justice Sanjay V. Gangapurwala and Justice G. Ilangovan observed.