The Tripura Human Rights Commission has recommended a series of safeguards for private businesses and other lawful establishments affected by public infrastructure projects. It has recommended that prior written notice, proper documentation and effective grievance redressal should be put in place by Agartala Smart City Limited in order to ensure that adverse effects on the businesses for public utility projects could be mitigated.

The recommendations came in an order dated September 9 on a complaint filed by Joyesh Bhowmik, proprietor of Supreme Media, over the alleged damage and removal of advertising hoardings during a drainage project undertaken by Agartala Smart City Ltd.

While the Commission headed by Justice Arindam Lodh found that the material on record did not establish a human rights violation warranting compensation, it said the case revealed shortcomings in communication, documentation and stakeholder consultation during execution of the project.

The Commission recommended that Agartala Smart City Ltd, Agartala Municipal Corporation and their executing agencies serve written notices sufficiently in advance whenever infrastructure work is likely to affect private commercial establishments, hoardings, kiosks or other lawful structures. 

The notice should specify the nature of the work, expected duration and steps required from affected stakeholders. Oral or telephone communication should ordinarily not be treated as sufficient.

It further recommended systematic documentation of all communication with affected persons, including notices, acknowledgements, photographs taken before and after removal, and records of consultations.

The Commission also called for minimising disruption to lawful commercial activities and protecting livelihoods wherever possible. It recommended a dedicated grievance redressal mechanism for people affected by Smart City projects, covering issues such as access obstruction, property damage, shifting of utilities and business losses.

Project engineers, contractors and field supervisors should also be sensitised about the need to respect citizens' dignity and livelihood, while ASCL, AMC and other utility agencies were advised to strengthen coordination and provide affected persons with clear and unified communication.

The Commission additionally stressed preservation of call records, photographs, videos and other electronic evidence when such material is relied upon as and when disputes emerged centered on any issue pertaining to the public projects.