HC notice to Odisha govt on alleged encroachment of road near former CM’s house

The Orissa High Court has issued a show-cause notice to Odisha Chief Secretary on the alleged encroachment of the busy old airport road traversing through Naveen Niwas, the residence of former chief minister and Leader of Opposition Naveen Patnaik.

The petition, filed by RTI activist Prakash Chandra Das, sought High Court’s intervention and direction to free the busy road from squatting for hassle-free movement of pedestrians and vehicular traffic.

Advertisement

The petition was filed in the interest of commuters and general public, who face difficulty and frequent accidents and traffic jam while routinely using the Old Airport Road and the Ekamra Road to go to Biju Patnaik International Airport in Bhubaneswar or Lingaraj Temple due to the obstruction on the one side of the road by Naveen Patnaik. Hence, the petitioner sought the intervention of the high court using the extraordinary power vested in it under Articles 226 and 227 of Constitution of India to curb the illegal, irrational and arbitrary action of the opposite parties in connivance with the authorities and for due dispensation of Justice, the Public Interest Litigation filed by the RTI activist alleged.

Patnaik was the chief minister of Odisha for the last 24 years and now is the leader of the Opposition in Odisha Legislative Assembly. By misusing his power and position, he has encroached one side of the double road in front of his house, in the name of security protocol for all these years, it further stated.

School buses and other vehicles in the town, while moving at the particular stretch where the road is barricaded and blocked, cause traffic jams. Ambulances and fire trucks also face difficulty negotiating the stretch due to the blockade as frequently leads to loss of life and property which otherwise could have been saved.

As a new government is elected to power and the opposite party, Naveen Patnaik, is no longer the chief minister, there is no justification for blocking a complete lane of a road in the name of security, it added.