(Tribune)
The Supreme Court today stayed an order of the state High Court directing the completion of construction of roads and bridges destroyed in the 2013 Kedarnath tragedy in a time-bound manner. A Bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices AM Khanwilkar and DY Chandrachud stayed the November 19, 2016, order and issued a notice to petitioners.The Uttarakhand Government had filed the appeal saying the HC had erred in passing several mandatory directions which were not harmonious with the guidelines of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDRF) and the SDRF for rehabilitation of the affected people.
He said out of the damaged 2,072 roads and 258 bridges in the state, 2,068 roads were opened to traffic and the remaining four that were completely washed away were proposed to be reconstructed. Of the 258 damaged bridges, 136 had been repaired and made available for traffic. “At 21 locations, bridge reconstruction is not required because of availability of alternative connectivity. As such, only 101 washed out bridges are to be reconstructed against which 25 bridges have so far been reconstructed and 10 are under constructions,” he said.
