In the wake of “unregulated” hill cutting and dumping activities by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), the Himachal Pradesh government has formed a high-level committee to monitor and investigate the ongoing works, especially along four-lane highway projects.
Addressing the media in Shimla on Wednesday, public works department (PWD) minister Vikramaditya Singh said, “The state government has constituted a committee under my chairmanship, including secretaries of all key departments such as PWD, jal shakti, forest and also the NHAI.”
“This committee has been formed so that all issues that emerge from time to time can be discussed constructively and solutions can be found,” Singh said, adding that an informal meeting was held today with NHAI officials to specifically raise the issue of uncontrolled hill cutting, dumping and damage to properties due to the works.
“We raised the matter of land being cut and damaged beyond the acquired width. The NHAI officials agreed to our concerns and assured that a slope and safety audit will be conducted by IIT-Roorkee. Wherever such problems are emerging, third-party audits will be conducted and stabilisation measures will be taken at the earliest,” Singh said.