The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has made it clear that if the highways and motorways are damaged by overloaded vehicles, then the government department and the relevant authorities will be compensated for the damage.
The court gave this order while pronouncing the decision on the petition filed for the implementation of Excel load policy.
The said application was filed by M/SJZ Enterprises Private Limited, a private transport company through its advocate Arif Chaudhry.
It should be remembered that last year the Islamabad High Court had suspended the notification issued by the Ministry of Communications on June 6, in which the implementation of Excel Load Law had been postponed for 90 days. The government has postponed the implementation of this policy several times.
The Axel Load Ordinance was introduced in 2000 but due to strong lobbying by the transporters, its implementation continues to be delayed.
Several trade and industry organizations have demanded the government to stop implementing the Excel load policy as it will increase the cost of freight by 100 times.
In the decision issued by Islamabad High Court Justice Meena Gul Hasan, it was said that the loss to the national exchequer due to the damage caused to the national highways and motorways due to the violation of the axle load prescribed by law Office holders and government departments will be charged from personal treasuries who ordered to postpone the implementation of the Accel Load Law.
Apart from this, the court also appointed advocate Kashif Ali Malik as judicial assistant in this case.
The petitioner’s counsel had argued that the implementation of the fixed axle load limit was being delayed due to a compromise between the transporters and the government.
As a result of which the national highways are getting damaged due to excessive weight loading on heavy vehicles
The judicial assistant told the bench that the ordinance was promulgated in public interest and it was the responsibility of the Ministry of Communications and its subordinate statutory departments to implement every provision of the ordinance in its spirit.
The court said that the said ordinance does not empower the government (Ministry of Communications and its subordinate departments) or any government officer to delay the implementation of the Excel Load Law, nor is there any provision in the ordinance that allows the government to override the said ordinance. Exemption or deferment may be granted upon compliance with the conditions.
Such limits can be changed by the Legislature by amending the Ordinance, only the Government cannot do so
It came to the court’s notice that the government’s instructions to postpone the implementation of the Excel load policy were ‘issued without legal authority’.
The court ordered that according to the provisions of the ordinance, the axle load policy should be strictly followed.
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– 2024-04-17 09:24:16
