NEW DELHI: In what could make the Union govt, especially road transport and highway minister Nitin Gadkari, proud, the Supreme Court on Tuesday commended the country’s quantum leap in infrastructure development and digitisation and said attempts to revolutionise travel by road through world-class highways are discernible.While frowning at the inability of the Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh state road transport corporations to reach an agreement on inter-state bus routes causing discomfort to people, a bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and A G Masih said India has developed in this century as an intricate network of highways connect remote villages to the cities and towns.Writing the judgment, Justice Datta said, “Expressways have been constructed to facilitate faster movement of people and goods between distant locations and thereby reduce travel time. These highways and expressways are transforming India’s transportation landscape and driving economic growth, among others.”What could remind old-timers about then Lok Sabha member Lalu Prasad Yadav’s infamous statement promising to construct highways as smooth as an actor’s cheek, the bench said, “What deserves special note is that the surface of these highways/expressways is smoother than ever before. With the introduction of modern vehicles, operators of stage carriage services have been providing comfort and convenience which are comparable with services available abroad.”“Switch to electric vehicles for both public and private use has facilitated sustainable transportation. A feature of smart transportation has been integration of technology to enhance efficiency and safety. In fine, with continued innovation and investment, the road transport sector seems to have progressed to attain more efficiency, sustainability and accessibility,” it said.SC said digitisation has been a game-changer and a couple of state road transport corporations have made use of all these IT and infrastructure developments to earn profits. “To adapt to the changing transportation landscape, leveraging technology to improve services and customer experience is the priority for these corporations,” it said.After the praise for the infrastructure development, the SC said the SRTCs of UP and MP have not paid adequate heed to interest of passengers and commuters and asked the two state-run bodies to enter dialogue for commencing playing of buses on inter-state routes.The SC said the principal secretaries of the transport departments of the two states could meet and work out an Inter-State Reciprocal Transport Agreement within three months to enable private operators to ply buses on routes allotted to MPSRTC, which is on the verge of being wound up.
