Kolkata, June 23: The Calcutta High Court today directed the West Bengal government to immediately remove encroachers from National Highway-2 connecting Delhi with Kolkata to ensure free flow of traffic. Giving the verdict in an appeal against a trial court's order on encroachment of NH-2 at Shaktigarh and Budbud in Burdwan district, a division bench comprising chief justice A K Mathur and Justice Ashim Bandyopadhyay directed the state to remove encroachers, hindering the free flow of traffic on the highway, as soon as possible. The bench also observed that it was advisable to construct bypasses wherever national highways passed through congested towns.
It permitted the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) to construct a road bypassing Shaktigarh and Budbud, two congested towns through which NH-2 (Delhi road) passes.
An earlier judgement by Justice Amitava Lala which had ordered the removal of encroachment if possibility of constructing a bypass was ruled out, was challenged by the NHAI and also some residents of Shaktigarh and Budbud. While Pratap Chatterjee appeared for NHAI, Tarun Roy represented the government and Kalyan Banerjee the affected residents of Shaktigar and Budbud.
Bureau Report