Prayagraj: Taking suo motu cognisance of reports that Gen Alpha students from a village in Hamirpur walked 5km to protest before the district magistrate over the lack of a road to their school, Allahabad high court has directed the UP forest department to expedite issuance of a no-objection certificate (NOC) for construction of a crucial 1.6-km stretch of the road.A bench of Chief Justice Arun Bhansali and Justice Kshitij Shailendra took suo motu cognisance of the matter and registered a PIL titled In the case.Govt informed the court that Rs 1.81 crore has been sanctioned for construction of the road. However, the project remains stalled because a 1.6-km stretch falls on forest land and requires clearance from the department concerned.Govt submitted that repeated efforts had been made to obtain the NOC but without success. It further said that, given the terrain, a cement-concrete road was required and sought additional time to secure the necessary permission from the forest department.The bench, in its order dated Aug 24, said: “We expect the forest department to issue the requisite NOC without further delay.”The proceedings stemmed from a newspaper report highlighting how more than 200 children from Chandupur village, accompanied by their parents, walked 5 km to protest before the Hamirpur district magistrate over the absence of a road connecting the village to the school.Earlier, the court had observed that the participation of children in the protest reflected the extent of the difficulties they were facing.The bench also directed that the Union govt, through the secretary of the ministry of environment, forest and climate change, and the divisional forest officer of the Hamirpur forest division be impleaded as respondents in the case.The court said a copy of the order be served on the additional solicitor general of India, who will inform the divisional forest officer, Hamirpur, to ensure compliance.
