Tamil Nadu Highway engineers’ body seeks revocation of suspension of two engineers over Hindi signboard

CHENNAI: Taking up the cause of the two engineers after a controversy broke out over Hindi in a signage on a State Highway stretch, the Association of Tamil Nadu Highway Engineers said there was no evidence to establish that there was a deliberate violation of the government’s two-language policy and urged the government to revoke the suspension of assistant engineer (AE) and an assistant divisional engineer (ADE).

In a statement on Sunday, the association referred to Indian Road Congress (IRC) code 67-2022, which deals with road signs, and said Clause 16.3.2.5 contemplates direction signs carrying more than two languages and refers to English, Hindi, and regional-language fonts. It said the code is applicable to roads open to public travel, including State Highways, and is intended to provide clear and timely information to road users and promote road safety.

The suspension required reconsideration, as there was no evidence to establish that the two engineers had deliberately violated the government’s two-language policy or had instructed, approved, measured, or certified the disputed signboard, the association said.

The association stressed that, in its view, the technical provisions of IRC:67-2022 did not override Tamil Nadu’s two-language policy, which it said it fully respected. It further claimed that neither engineer had instructed or approved the contractor to provide the Hindi lettering.

The association said the mere erection of a signboard by a contractor within an engineer’s jurisdiction could not, by itself, establish misconduct or personal responsibility on the part of the engineer. It called for the records relating to the contractor’s instructions, execution, inspection, approval, measurement, and certification to be examined before responsibility was fixed.

The association said the work had been executed through the National Highways Wing under Central Road and Infrastructure Fund (CRIF) funding and that the contractor had previous experience in National Highway and NHAI works. It said this raised the possibility that the contractor had independently adopted a multilingual sign layout based on its previous experience, which it said should be verified from the official records.

Also, the additional lettering could be removed without causing structural damage to the road or permanently affecting road safety, it said, arguing that the nature and gravity of the alleged lapse should be assessed objectively and proportionately.

The association urged the government to review and revoke the suspension, examine the matter with reference to IRC:67-2022, the sanctioned estimate, agreement conditions and applicable government instructions, and verify whether the two engineers had actually instructed, approved, measured, or certified the disputed signboard.

It also sought an examination of the contractor’s role and the complete execution records, and said individual responsibility should be fixed only on the basis of established facts and due process.

The association reiterated its support for the State’s two-language policy but said disciplinary action against engineers should be based on established individual responsibility, documentary evidence, applicable technical provisions, and principles of natural justice.