Debabrata Saikia, the leader of the Opposition in the Assam Assembly, has urged Chief Justice Vijay Bishnoi of the Gauhati High Court to direct the state government to stop the construction of the Dighalipukhuri-Noonmati flyover till the authorities provide a “comprehensive plan" to address the project’s effect on air pollution and traffic congestion.

In his seven-page petition submitted on Saturday to draw the attention of the chief justice to the “grave civic and environmental ramifications that may be caused by the ongoing flyover project”, Saikia has also requested the court to give “explicit instructions to preserve the heritage sites in and around the Noonmati to Dighalipukhuri route and to refrain from removing any trees in order to build this flyover”.

Saikia’s petition comes amid the ongoing protest to protect the heritage trees at Dighalipukhuri, a popular landmark, despite the state government commiting on Wednesday to prepare a draft traffic flow to ensure the flyover ends on GNB road itself or any other alternative road to avoid cutting of heritage trees in the Dighalipukhuri area.

The PWD team has been asked to submit its report this week but Guwahati residents behind the protest want the BJP-led state government to issue a formal commitment and hold a public consultation on the project.

Dighalipukhuri, a man-made half-a-mile-long pond surrounded by trees which are over century-old, is a heritage site. It was once used by legendary Ahom general Lachit Borphukan to dock his ships to attack the mighty Mughals during the historic Saraighat war. Back then, Dighalipukhuri was connected to the Brahmaputra river, a protester said.

The Dighalipukhuri-Noonmati flyover project, a 5.44-kilometer elevated corridor with an estimated cost of ₹852 crores, is expected to be completed by 2026, has threatened a section of these heritage trees, triggering the ongoing protest that started on Tuesday. The project is being executed by the State PWD (Roads) department.

In his petition, Saikia has also urged the chief justice to give the Assam government and the concerned authorities “strict instructions to establish a traffic and environmental management plan that minimizes the impact on the environment and local population by limiting dust emissions, controlling water logging, and reducing noise pollution” and also to give vendors, and others who will lose their jobs while this flyover is being built with adequate compensation and alternate means of livelihoods”.

A petition on behalf of the concerned citizens was also submitted on Tuesday to the chief justice of the high court to “initiate” a proceeding (suo motu PIL) against the uprooting of the trees to save Dighalipukhuri area from the attempt “to mar the beauty, degrade the green environment and destroy the heritage of the iconic site”.

The first petition had stated how the proposed construction is bound to cut or uproot several age-old trees that adorn the banks with greenery unavailable elsewhere in the city.