Road repairs in Maharashtra to be monitored by two-judge committee: Bombay high court

It has directed all civic wards to submit reports to the committee

The Bombay high court on Wednesday formed a two-member committee to look into repair and maintenance of road.

Potholes lead to road accidents, observed the high court. (Pramod Thakur/HT PHOTO)

It has directed all civic wards to submit reports to the committee, comprising justices KR Sriram and Girish Kulkarni of the high court. It has been asked to scrutinise ward reports and issue appropriate orders to carry out repairs to civic officials. It also monitors that civic bodies implement its orders.

A division bench of Chief Justice Manjula Chellur and Justice Mahesh Sonak issued these directives on a suo-motu notice of a letter written by a sitting judge of the high court raising concerns about the bad condition of roads.

It also upbraided civic bodies for not improving the condition of roads despite several orders.

The bench appointed the member secretary of the Maharashtra State Legal Services Authority (MSLSA) as a nodal officer. Ward officers were asked to report to MSLSA which in turn submit the progress to two-member panel. The bench was peeved that the nodal officer had received only 180 complaints about potholes since August 3, the day of last hearing.

"Probably, people have no time to read newspapers or bother about the safety of road users," the bench said, commenting on the lack of public response. “Apparently, only lawyers are making noise about potholes and bad road conditions, but the general public has no complaints about roads," it added. The judges asked the MSLSA to spread awareness among people about potholes.

These officers route these complaints to civic bodies and ensure roads are repaired.