The Supreme Court on Monday considered framing pan-India guidelines to prevent road accidents on expressways and national highways, taking note of recurring fatalities such as the recent crash in Rajasthan’s Phalodi that claimed 15 lives. The court flagged the mushrooming of illegal dhabas and small eateries along highways as a serious safety concern and sought clarity on the statutory framework to deal with such encroachments.
A bench of Justices J.K. Maheshwari and Vijay Bishnoi, hearing a suo motu case arising out of the Phalodi accident, asked Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), to place on record the rules and regulations governing action against unauthorised eateries on highways. The bench also sought details of the action taken so far, the authority responsible for initiating it, and the reasons for non-implementation of existing provisions.
“After discussion between amicus and solicitor general, issues resolved by them, which may be helpful for issuance of the guidelines, also to be produced. In the meantime, parties are at liberty to exchange Google images, which may be helpful in resolving the real problem,” the court directed.
Responding to the bench, the Solicitor General submitted that the NHAI does have the power to remove illegal dhabas and eateries, but the enforcement authority is generally delegated to the local district magistrate. “The local police and other authorities are under his command and control, which the NHAI does not have. So we have to find out a solution,” Mehta told the court.
Terming the issue non-adversarial, he also pointed out that service roads are usually provided at regular intervals on expressways and national highways to handle vehicle breakdowns. Justice Bishnoi, however, noted that such service roads do not exist on every stretch and observed that illegal dhabas and eateries often come up in between, where “most of the accidents take place”.
The bench further noted that the NHAI’s report appeared to place the blame on local contractors or the district administration for encroachments. The court made it clear that it wanted to know which authority, under the law, is ultimately responsible for ensuring that such eateries do not come up on highways in the first place.
Justice Maheshwari said the court was examining the issue to “fill up the existing gaps in the provisions” and to ensure proper implementation so that Phalodi-type accidents are not repeated.
Appearing for an intervenor, advocate Pranav Sachdeva submitted that the Supreme Court had already dealt with similar issues in the past and issued directions that were not implemented. He pointed to highways in Goa that pass through villages or near a medical college, leading to frequent accidents. “I have filed the recent Supreme Court judgment directing the NHAI to develop an SOP to remove encroachments,” he said.
Justice Maheshwari responded that the problem was not confined to one state. “The issue is not of one state alone but of the entire country,” he said, adding that the court was looking at the wider national picture while considering the formulation of guidelines.
Senior advocate A.N.S. Nadkarni, appointed as amicus curiae in the matter, informed the court that he had placed Google images on record showing widespread encroachments along highways across the country.
On November 10, the Supreme Court had sought responses from the NHAI and the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways in the suo motu proceedings linked to the Phalodi accident. The court had directed the authorities to conduct a survey of the area and submit a report on the number of dhabas operating along the highway passing through Phalodi. It had also sought a specific report on the condition of the highway and the road-maintenance norms followed by the contractor.
The apex court had taken suo motu cognisance of the November 2 incident near Matoda village on the Bharatmala highway, where a tempo traveller rammed into a stationary trailer truck while travelling from Bikaner’s Kolayat temple to Jodhpur. The crash claimed 15 lives, including 10 women and four children.
The matter will be taken forward after the NHAI and other stakeholders place the relevant statutory provisions, reports and materials before the court for consideration of nationwide safety guidelines.
