HC notice to NHAI for failure to complete highway work

The Lucknow bench of Allahabad high court has issued a show cause notice to the Chairperson of National Highway Authority of India(NHAI) asking why contempt proceedings would not be initiated for "prima facie failure" to complete the work of Lucknow-Rae Bareli-Allahabad highway despite solemn assurances made to the court.
A division bench of chief justice D Y Chandrachud and justice Shree Narain Shukla passed the order on May 12 on a public interest litigation ( PIL )pending since 2013 regarding the repairing and widening the highway.
The court had taken suo motu cognizance of the issue in view of the "pathetic" condition of the road and directed NHAI to construct it properly.

A direction was issued to the effect that the road from Lucknow to Allahabad via Rae Bareli would be completed by December 2013. Thereafter, the matter had been monitored by the court and a series of orders were passed.
On November 17, 2014, the court recorded the assurances that the work would be completed by March 31,2015, save the three bypasses.
"The material which has been placed on record prima facie indicates that no step has been taken to comply with the solemn assurance which has been tendered to the court on several occasions. The national highway continues to be in a pathetic condition, except for the stretch from Lucknow to Rae Bareli", the court observed.

"Though a monitoring committee had been appointed by the court, there is prima facie an abject failure to complete the work despite the solemn assurances made to the court", the court added.
"In these circumstances, we are constrained to issue a notice to show cause to the Chairperson of National Highway Authority of India to explain as to why steps should not be initiated under the Contempt of Courts Act,1971. The notice shall be made returnable on May 26, 2015", the court said.