Supreme Court has held that right to safe passage on roads is an integral part of right to life under Article 21 of the Constitution, while recognizing the "safety of a commuter" as an integral facet of "right to live with dignity". The Court recently passed a slew of directions to address systemic and infrastructural issues plaguing national highways and expressways in the country.
It ordered inter-alia immediate removal of all unauthorized encroachments such as dhabas, eateries, etc. falling in the Right of Way of any national highway. It further directed provision of basic life support ambulances and truck lay-bye facilities at regular intervals on highways.
"A road, particularly a high-speed Expressway, must not become a corridor of peril due to administrative lethargy or infrastructural gaps. The loss of even a single life to avoidable hazards like illegal parking or blackspots etc., represents a failure of the State's protective umbrella. The 'Right to Life' enshrined under Article 21 of the Constitution of India is not merely a guarantee against the unlawful taking of life, but a positive mandate upon the State to ensure a safe environment where human life is preserved and valued", the Court noted.
A bench of Justices JK Maheshwari and Atul Chandurkar passed the order - while invoking its Article 142 powers - in the suo motu case taken up in the aftermath of two tragic highway accidents - one, in Rajasthan's Phalodi, where a tempo traveler slammed into a stationary truck on November 2, and the other, in Telangana's Rangareddy, where a passenger bus collided with a gravel-carrying truck on November 3.
Cumulatively, the two accidents had resulted in a loss of 34 lives. Last year, the Court directed the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) to submit reports on roadside dhabas and road maintenance conditions. Thereafter, on the Court's suggestion, Senior Advocate ANS Nadkarni (Amicus) and Solicitor General Tushar Mehta held deliberations and tendered their suggestions for interim directions. The NHAI also placed on record its comments.
In this backdrop, the Court has issued key directions which include (a) Heavy/commercial vehicles shall not shall park or stop at any National Highway carriageway or paved shoulder, except in a designated space,(b) Union and State authorities shall file a consolidated report on dedicated inspection teams, demolishing of encroachments, activation of toll-free number for encroachment complaints, (c) No new dhaba, eatery or commercial structure shall be constructed or allowed to operate within the Right of Way on any national highway.
Within 60 days, the District Magistrates shall ensure removal of all such unauthorized structures,(d) No license, trade approval or no-objection shall be granted by any authority for any site within highway safety zones, without prior clearance by NHAI/PWD,(e) State governments to also issue notification prohibiting change of land use (as prescribed).
Besides, dedicated patrolling teams comprising state police and transport department personnel to be constituted within 30 days for regular National Highway patrolling,(g) NHAI shall operationalize its Advanced Traffic Management System comprising TMCC cameras, VSDS speed detectors, VIDS cameras, Variable Message Signboards, and Emergency Call Boxes across all 4/6-lane highways and expressways. (h)NHAI shall deploy within 60 days Basic Life Support ambulances and recovery cranes at every national highway, at intervals not exceeding 75 km.
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