Bhubaneswar: Former Union Education Minister and Sambalpur MP Dharmendra Pradhan has urged Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi to take stringent measures against illegal and hazardous parking of heavy vehicles and trucks along national and state highways in the state’s major mining and industrial corridors, citing rising road accidents and threats to public safety.
In a letter to the Chief Minister, Pradhan said trucks were being parked illegally in long queues stretching for kilometres along highways in mining and industrial belts, posing serious risks to road users. He attributed the problem to poor logistics management by mining companies and the absence of designated parking facilities.
Pradhan said the state government had clear constitutional obligations and strong legal powers to address the issue and ensure safe movement of vehicles on highways.
Citing a Supreme Court order dated April 13, 2026, in Suo Motu W.P. (C) No. 9 of 2025, he said the apex court had recognised safe passage on highways as an integral part of the right to life guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution.
He noted that the Supreme Court, exercising its powers under Article 142, had issued binding interim directions prohibiting the parking of heavy and commercial vehicles on national highways and designated traffic corridors except at designated parking areas.
The directions also provide for round-the-clock patrolling, automated electronic challans and the removal of illegally parked vehicles, with district collectors and superintendents of police being held accountable through district road safety task forces, he said.
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Referring to the Odisha State Highways Authority Act, 2025, Pradhan said the legislation provided for stringent administrative, financial and criminal penalties against drivers, transport operators and industrial companies violating road safety provisions.
Under Section 28, mandatory fines ranging from Rs 1,000 to Rs 5,000 could be imposed for dangerous conduct on roads, while vehicles seized under the law could be auctioned if the prescribed fines remained unpaid for a month, he said.
He also referred to Sections 72 and 73, which empower authorities to seize vehicles that violate the law, along with their consignments, and levy hourly parking charges.
Section 69 provides for imprisonment of up to six months and fines of up to Rs 20,000 for offences involving unsafe driving and overloading, Pradhan said.
Emphasising corporate accountability, he said Section 76 provides a basis for holding companies responsible when negligence or deficient logistics management leads to such violations. Officers and directors responsible for the conduct of the business could also face legal proceedings, he added.
Pradhan urged the Chief Minister to intervene and direct all concerned state departments to issue public awareness notices and strictly enforce vehicle seizure provisions under Section 72.
He also called for the invocation of corporate liability under Section 76 against industrial and mining companies whose transport mismanagement caused congestion on highways.
The Sambalpur MP further proposed that mining operators be required to establish off-highway holding yards equipped with basic facilities to accommodate heavy vehicles without obstructing traffic.
He stressed the need to activate district road safety task forces and conduct regular reviews to ensure effective enforcement and accountability.
Human life, he said, must take precedence over industrial or administrative inconvenience. Pradhan expressed hope that swift and deterrent legal action against violators would transform Odisha’s highways from dangerous corridors into corridors of progress.
