STAFF REPORTER
GUWAHATI, Jan 11: Chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Sunday said objections to the proposed integrated judicial complex in North Guwahati over travel time would become irrelevant once the new bridge over the Brahmaputra is inaugurated next month.
Addressing a gathering after Chief Justice of India Surya Kant laid the foundation stone for the new court campus at Rangmahal in Kamrup district, Sarma appealed to all sections to support the project, which includes relocation of the Gauhati High Court along with district courts and allied facilities.
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The move has been opposed by the Gauhati High Court Bar Association.
Referring to the protest, the chief minister said the government respects dissent in a democracy, but maintained that the argument that lawyers would take nearly two hours to reach the new complex would not hold once the Guwahati–North Guwahati bridge is opened by the Prime Minister in February.
He claimed that travel time from the existing high court area near Dighalipukhuri to Rangmahal would be reduced to around 20–25 minutes through the new bridge.
Sarma said the government would assess the decision to build the integrated complex at Rangmahal after March 1.
He also thanked local residents for cooperating in the land acquisition process, noting that land value in the area would rise significantly with upcoming infrastructure projects such as another Brahmaputra bridge and the Guwahati Ring Road.
Recalling his own beginnings as a lawyer at the Gauhati High Court, Sarma said the present premises were no longer adequate to meet future needs.
Emphasising the need to move with changing aspirations, he said the new judicial complex should reflect a “new Assam”.
The chief minister added that the state government plans to spend about Rs 1,700 crore on the project, with work on the first phase already set to begin.
