Following disruptions in traffic movement that has adversely affected various sectors of Himachal Pradesh, the Anti-corruption Forum (ACF) has demanded the Commission of Inquiry (CoI) against the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) under the Commission of Inquiry Act 1952.
“The Commission of Inquiry should be headed by a retired judge of the Supreme Court, preferably someone who has been from Himachal Pradesh, and the inquiry should go into details of the losses with a strong interface of the people,” said ACF convener and former Deputy Mayor Shimla Tikender Singh Panwar while talking to media here on Monday.
The recent rain fury has exposed the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) in their two four-lane projects, Chandigarh to Shimla, and Kiratpur to Manali, he said.
“The NHAI officials along with the construction companies should be criminally prosecuted for their negligence and immediately a special investigation team (SIT) must be constituted by the government to look into the malfunctioning of the NHAI,” he demanded,
“It has been proved without doubt that the manner in which road construction was carried out is the main reason for both the roads being blocked intermittently. Against the norms of construction in the mountains, they were vertically cut and massive landslides got triggered after that,” he blamed.
He said: “Huge losses have been incurred to the people linked with agriculture, horticulture and hospitality in the regions linked with the construction of these two roads. The districts that have suffered the most are Solan, Shimla, Kinnaur, Kullu, Lahaul and Spiti, which are also the fruit bowls of the state.”
“In Shimla district itself, there are estimated 5,000 tourism units, which include hotels, home stays, B&Bs. These units are also supporting a number of family units by providing them direct employment in the industry,” he said, adding that there are other related ancillary units like the tourist guides, taxi operators, shops, who have been completely devastated in the last two months, especially in July.
The NHAI should be made to pay a compensation of around Rs 500 crore to the hospitality industry in the two regions of Shimla, and Kullu, including the ancillary units, he demanded.
He also urged the state government to contemplate the losses that have been incurred during this monsoon season. The losses are happening frequently, year after year.