By: Vijay Kumar Verma, Editor-ICN Group
SHIMLA: Well before any national highway is designed and planned, the value of land along the demarcated road increases many folds. Builders and business opportunists flock such potential places with bags full of money to transact private land which could later be developed for commercial purposes or for building residential apartments.
This is what is being proved along the upcoming four lane highway close to the existing Shimla – Dhalli byepass. This part of the four lane has been designed to connect Shoghi and Dhalli as an extension to the Parwanoo- Shimla national highway being widened. The proposed construction of a new government hospital of the standards of IGMC and other establishments near Malyana and Bhattakufar have further pushed the land prices on this stretch of upcoming national highway. The widening exercise has already lead to felling of thousands of trees along the earmarked route of the proposed road. The barren hills are getting more denuded of the forest cover while thousands of tonnes of debris is being dumped at various places which further flows down the hills into natural water streams.
We come across examples of bans imposed on construction activities as well movement of traffic on hills and mountains to protect forest wealth in many a countries of the world. But unfortunately such examples are beyond the appreciation of scores of bureaucrats and politicians visiting foreign lands on study tours.
According to the Himachal TCP act, there are no strict rules to protect such forest wealth and discourage construction activities along such highways. The rules provide only for a clearance of just three meters from the road for any building construction. Any commercial activity on the road is then bound to hamper movement of traffic leading to traffic jams.
This is what has happened in the cases of Shimla – Dhalli byepass, Mehli-Shoghi byepass and the Sanjauli -Dhalli byepass. Much before the completion of road construction activities on these byepasses, many a commercial and residential establishments had come up. And rather they continue to come up in the lack of any strict rules of the TCP. A drive on the Shimla -Dhalli byepass shows how the hills along the highway are being scrapped and devastated to give way for the construction of buildings. There are a number of auto worshops too on the byepass which undertake car repair works on the road itself thus blocking parts of the highway. And other business establishments attracting visitors too add to traffic congestion because of parking. We find that wherever these shanties have come up, the road sides are extensively being used for parking thus negating the very purpose of building the byepass or road widening for traffic movement.
What is finally happening is providing a new byepass to the existing byepass which is then justified to meet the need of growing traffic and for its easy flow.
The situation reminds me of an old film “Mandi” wherein a brothel within a city becomes the bone of contention for certain members of the municipality who advocate for its shifting to a place far away outside the city limits. Years later a new township gets developed around the relocated brothel. And a similar situation arises when elected members of the municipality approach the brothel owners to again relocate themselves.
The situation of these city bypasses are similar to the film story. Unable to check the building construction activities, the city authorities find it easy to design another byepass.
