Shimla's ex-Dy Mayor files FIR against NHAI, road building company GR Infra

Environmentalist, social activist and former Deputy Mayor of Shimla Municipal Corporation Tikender Singh Panwar has filed an FIR against the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) and the four-lane building company GR Infra in Parwanoon Police station of Solan district of the state.

A case has been registered for unscientific construction and violating the norms to build the road which caused landslides, flood and killed so many people during the heavy rains in the state. Tikender said that this was criminal negligence as norms have been violated and it had adversely affected the people, crops and ecology of the Himalayas.

"I filed this complaint against two principal agencies one is National Highway Authority and another is against the company which is responsible for the building of Four lane road between Parwanoon to Solan region. The four-lane work which is being done is a threat to the ecology, environment, economy and people as many have been killed," said Tikender Singh Panwar.

"This is criminal negligence, the rocks which have been cut unscientifically. There are set norms, there is a Border Road Organization Manual and we have a British manual in Shimla that how the roads are to be built and how the mountains need to be cut. It is clear that hills are not excavated vertically, they have cut the entire mountains in the region vertically, the apple season is starting and it has ruined the economy of the Apple farmers as crops will not be transported to the markets as the roads are sliding and closed. This has happened not only in the present year but it has been done during the previous years also after they have started building the four-lane in this region," said Panwar.

"This is a part of the Himalayas which are sedimentary rocks and there are still plate moments. The work should have been done on the basis of the geological study. If that has been ignored that is more serious. There were no public hearings, no environment impact assessment was not done this is unfortunate," said Tikender.

He said that more such cases would be registered in Kullu and other parts of the state where there is sheer negligence by the agencies concerned and it has caused damages."This is a kind of alarming bell in the region, we have seen in Kullu similar work has been done in Kullu also we are going to register another complaint," he further added.

Panwar said that the development model which is being adopted is a threat to the ecology and economy of the region. He questioned that there was a big nexus working in the entire region and it was inviting more threat to the Himalayan region.

"The entire development model is questionable, there are no scientific muck dumping sites, despite all this they are charging the toll and the road is not functioning. There is a big nexus of the multiple agencies involved in it. The entire biodiversity is gone." His FIR complaint read, "This is a complaint for criminal neglect leading to massive loss to the natural ecosystem, human lives, assets, financial loss to the people owing to their inability to carry their agriculture produce to the market. This complaint for criminal neglect is against the National Highway Authority of India comprising their executing and planning officers and the executing company, GR Infra Projects with their corporate office. Both the NHAI and the executing company, are responsible for the construction of four lanes fromParwanoo to Solan. Both have the responsibility of ensuring minimum damage to the hills whilst constructing this project. However, it seems that both have connived together and have either not consulted the geological department while preparing the project report or the said report is completely erroneous."

"This can be substantiated by the fact that every year since the construction began there have been losses to both the assets and lives. Further, the design of cutting is erroneously manufactured for ill-conceived ideas and profits. Instead of cutting the mountain in slopes, they have been cut vertically and this will be a perpetual problem for the people in whose name this development project has been done. Both the NHAI and the executing company GR Infraprojects Limited are liable to be tried on criminal neglect. Also in this criminal neglect, whether it is circumstantial or there was a connivance in it should also be assessed," read the complaint.