Provide staff to remove highway encroachments

Shimla : The Himachal high court Court on Monday directed the state chief secretary, DGP and ENC PWD to provide sufficient man power to discharge their public duties to enable the authorities to draw action and remove all encroachments in and around Kalka to Shimla and Shimla to Dharamsala national highways.

The court also directed Centre and state governments to file fresh status report in the matter. The court also sought the details of the encroachments already removed so far.

A Division Bench comprising the Chief Justice Mansoor Ahmad Mir and Justice Tarlok Singh Chauhan passed these orders on a petition taken up suo moto by the Court as PIL on a news item published in Amar Ujala regarding illegal encroachment on the road side on national highways.

The state had filed status report in this matter, in which, the details of all the encroachers, which have made encroachments at Barog and all the national highways was given. The next hearing is 5 September.