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307 vehicles, No junkyard: HC Impleads Finance Secretary
Shimla, Aug. 6
Himachal Pradesh High Court has impleaded the Secretary (Finance) to the state government as a party in an ongoing suo motu public interest litigation concerning the dumping of accidented and impounded vehicles along the road leading to Shimla Airport at Tara Devi and the road connecting Hotel Asia The Dawn to the District Court at Chakkar.
The court has directed the Finance Secretary to file an affidavit on providing funds required for shifting the vehicles to a designated junkyard.
A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice G.S. Sandhawalia and Justice Bipin C. Negi passed the order after noting that the Finance Department had not approved a proposal to establish a dedicated police vehicle junkyard at 16 Mile near Dhami despite the availability of land identified by the Police Department.
The Bench had earlier observed that the airport road required extensive repairs and that accidented vehicles parked along both sides of the road for nearly 500 metres were obstructing traffic and road maintenance. The court had directed the Police Department to identify an alternative site away from the roadside for dumping such vehicles.
During the hearing, the state informed the court that, in principle, the police had notified a 00-45-30 hectare site at Village Ghandal near Dhami for construction of a police post, vehicle parking and a junkyard for impounded vehicles. However, the Finance Department recommended continuation of the existing arrangement instead of approving the proposal.
The court was informed that 117 impounded vehicles are currently parked on the road from Hotel Asia The Dawn to the District Court at Chakkar, while another 190 vehicles are lying along the Tara Devi-Kanchi Mod road. The proposed project requires an estimated Rs 6.23 lakh, including Rs 3.74 lakh for construction of the police post and parking facility at Dhami and Rs 2.49 lakh for the district junkyard.
Expressing concern, the Bench observed that keeping such a large number of impounded vehicles on roadsides could lead to pilferage, besides obstructing the free flow of traffic. It directed the Finance Secretary to file an affidavit indicating the availability of funds by the next hearing on September 28, 2026.
The court also took note of a communication from the Superintending Engineer, HPPWD, Shimla, stating that the damaged airport road would be repaired through patchwork or proper metalling and tarring as soon as weather conditions permit.
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