The State government has not received any information regarding the various road projects sanctioned for Meghalaya by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.
On November 9, Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari during an official meeting in Guwahati had announced new sanctioned road projects worth Rs.1.6 lakh crore for the eight states of the North East.
Meghalaya has received approval of various road projects worth Rs 12,500 crore.
They include the 38-kilometre Shillong-Western Bypass project with a budget of Rs 2,205 crore, the 75-kilometre Mawlyngkhung-Mawryngkneng (Shillong Eastern Bypass) project sanctioned at Rs 4,100 crore, the 80-kilometre Dainadubi-Darugre-Williamnagar project at a cost of Rs 4,350 crore and the proposed 56-km Paikan-Tura road project at the cost of Rs 1,827 crore.
However, the Meghalaya government said it had no information about these projects.
This was revealed during the hearing of a PIL filed by Arnold G. Momin in the Meghalaya High Court on December 8.
During the hearing, the division bench of the High Court said that an announcement has been made by the Union Minister in Guwahati regarding augmentation of funds for construction of roads in the North-East states and some announcements have also been made regarding infusion of funds for Meghalaya roads, including for the Shillong Western Bypass.
However, the State government told the High Court that there is no formal intimation regarding such projects.
The High Court then asked the State government to make every attempt to ascertain the position from the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways “since the announcement was made by the Union Minister, no less, in the course of a visit to the North-East”.
The next hearing of the PIL will be held a week after the High Court vacation. It was listed for February 10, 2023.
