HC upholds Bhoma-Corlim NH expansion in public interest

Panaji: The high court of Bombay at Goa held that the Bhoma-Corlim highway widening project is in public interest while dismissing a petition by 57 villagers challenging it.“When it comes to national highways, national interest and public interest are paramount, and the same cannot be dictated by the demands or objections of some individuals who are invariably based on the ‘not in my backyard’ attitude,” stated the division bench comprising Justices Bharati Dangre and Nivedita Mehta.The acquisition law provides a balance by providing the land losers with compensation, the HC added.“The larger public interest, which benefits from the widening of highways, solves the problems of traffic jams and congestion on roads, affects the safety of people, and also increases the travel time as well as extra usage of fuel and natural resources, needs to be at the forefront,” the HC stated.It added that land has already been vested in central govt and the process is at an advanced stage.

Any interference at this stage will derail the process, which is already in its concluding stages, and will be detrimental to the interest of the public at large.“The project in question is extremely important in the public interest. The original national highways are connecting links between different states in the country,” the HC observed.Such highways need to be of a high standard, not only to deal with the existing traffic but also to have an eye on future requirements.

Due focus should also be on safety measures, including situations which may relate to disaster management and emergencies, to enable seamless movement of traffic,” the HC observed.It added that the project has been taken up precisely to deal with problems faced on account of narrow highways and bottlenecks to ensure that the national highway is improved by widening roads and upgrading the same to four lanes, and also by providing elevated roads.“This will not only benefit the public who will use the roads, but more importantly, will also ease the strain and problems which may be faced by the residents on account of traffic jams and other issues, which sometimes result in accidents and prevent smooth and quick mobility of the traffic,” the HC stated.The project is not one where an altogether new highway is being constructed, the HC observed, adding that the national highway has existed for decades.It added that authorities are improving the highway by upgrading it to four lanes by providing elevated roads in the entire stretch except the bridge and its approaches.“The project is being taken up after considering all the relevant aspects. The alignment has also been designed and finalised by engineers and experts in the field. Due care is also taken to avoid any damage to the property and structures,” the HC observed.