Not responsible for safety of commuters on Delhi-Panipat highway: NHAI to HC

In what has been dubbed by the Punjab and Haryana High Court as not only surprising but also insensitive,the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) has told the court that it is not its responsibility to ensure the safety of commuters travelling on the Delhi-Panipat highway

In what has been dubbed by the Punjab and Haryana High Court as not only surprising but also insensitive,the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) has told the court that it is not its responsibility to ensure the safety of commuters travelling on the Delhi-Panipat highway. The reason being highway is not an access controlled highway,the NHAI has claimed.

Holding this submission as surprising and insensitive,Justice Rajive Bhalla has last week asked NHAI to explain why it has allowed a cut in the berm at almost every one-and-a-half-km of the highway. There are 31 cuts in the 46-km stretch between Delhi and Panipat. The provision of more than 30 cuts in a stretch of only 46 kms would necessarily jeopardise the safety of the travelling public, Bhalla said while directing the NHAI to file an affidavit in this regard.

The signboards indicating a cut in the higway are not visible. The NHAI shall,where it allows an authorised cut in the median,install an amber coloured traffic light so as to caution the travelling public of an approaching cut in the berm of the highway, the order stated.

The court also made it clear that if Punjab and Haryana governments do not enforce traffic rules regarding speed limit,officials responsible for ensuring that vehicles travel in specified lanes,will be held responsible and action taken against them. The two states were also asked to continue to file monthly affidavits with respect to the number of challans issued for violation of traffic rules.

The directions were passed during the hearing of a petition demanding implementation of traffic guidelines issued by the court in 1998. Punjab,Haryana and Chandigarh administrations have been held in contempt for not complying with court directions.

Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram

Tags:
Punjab and Haryana High Court

Not responsible for safety of commuters on Delhi-Panipat highway: NHAI to HC

In what has been dubbed by the Punjab and Haryana High Court as not only surprising but also insensitive,the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) has told the court that it is not its responsibility to ensure the safety of commuters travelling on the Delhi-Panipat highway

In what has been dubbed by the Punjab and Haryana High Court as not only surprising but also insensitive,the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) has told the court that it is not its responsibility to ensure the safety of commuters travelling on the Delhi-Panipat highway