Opposition to new court complex over travel time won't hold after new bridge opens: Assam CM

Guwahati, Jan 11 (PTI) Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Sunday said a section of lawyers opposing the integrated judicial complex in North Guwahati area citing travel time will not hold good once the new bridge over the Brahmaputra river is inaugurated next month.

He urged for support from all sections for the new court campus, the foundation for which was laid at Rangmahal in North Guwahati area of Kamrup district earlier in the day by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant.

The integrated complex will house the Gauhati High Court and district courts, besides other related facilities. The Gauhati High Court Bar Association is protesting the decision of relocation.

Speaking on the occasion, Sarma said, “A section of lawyers is opposing the new complex. In a democracy, a government should respect all opposition. But, their main contention that it will take two hours to reach the new site will not hold ground after the Guwahati-North Guwahati bridge over the Brahmaputra is inaugurated by the prime minister in February." He claimed that the driving time from Dighalipukhuri area of Guwahai, near which the high court is at present situated, to Rangmahal will be around 20-25 minutes through the new bridge.

"After March 1, we will accept whether our decision to build the new integrated complex at Rangmahal is correct or wrong," he added.

The CM thanked the people of Rangmahal for cooperating in land acquisition, given the fact that the land value will increase manifold once other developmental projects, including another bridge over the Brahmaputra and the Guwahati Ring Road, are completed.

Sarma, who had started his professional life as a lawyer at the Gauhati High Court before winning his first assembly election in 2001, said the present building cannot meet the requirement of the future.

"With time, aspirations change. We need to move forward. Our attempt is that this new complex reflect our new Assam," he said.

The chief minister said the state government will be spending total of Rs 1,700 crore for the project, with work on the first phase commencing. PTI SSG SSG SOM