Put barricades on Mumbai-Goa Highway, avoid accidents: HC to state, NHAI

The Bombay high court (HC) has directed the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) and the public works department (PWD) of the state government to submit a report on the Mumbai-Goa Highway widening project after a public interest litigation (PIL) was filed claiming that the delay in completing the project was resulting in loss of lives due to accidents, which were occurring due to improper barricading of work areas

The Bombay high court (HC) has directed the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) and the public works department (PWD) of the state government to submit a report on the Mumbai-Goa Highway widening project after a public interest litigation (PIL) was filed claiming that the delay in completing the project was resulting in loss of lives due to accidents, which were occurring due to improper barricading of work areas. The HC also directed the authorities to ensure filling up of potholes that had developed due to monsoon to ensure safety of vehicular traffic.

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The division bench of chief justice Dipankar Datta and justice Girish Kulkarni, while hearing the PIL filed by advocate Owais Pechkar, a resident of Chiplun in Konkan, was informed that he was a regular commuter on the Mumbai-Goa Highway and sought directions to the authorities to resolve the delay in the road-widening project as well as other issues faced by daily commuters of NH-66 who were at a risk of accidents due to potholes.

Referring to an earlier PIL filed by him in 2018, Pechkar submitted that though the HC had directed NHAI and state to ensure that the highway was rid of potholes, nothing had been done so far, hence he was forced to file another PIL highlighting the same issues and others.

In its 2018 order, the HC had suggested that the state rope in experts to suggest technologies to address the pothole problem over a longer period of time, but, Pechkar said, nothing had been done in that regard.

After hearing the submissions, the bench concurred and asked NHAI and PWD to look into the issues including potholes as monsoon is underway and safety measures needed to be taken to avoid accidents and save lives. The court also said that it was the responsibility of the authorities to place warning signages and barricades where road-widening work was going on. It also sought a progress report of the highway widening work and asked the authorities to inform by when it would be completed.

Advocate general Ashutosh Kumbhakoni for the state assured the court that the court’s observations would be conveyed to the officers concerned and who would respond in the next hearing.