HC hits out at BMC over zebra crossings

Civic chief, Subodh Kumar, could be hauled up for contempt of court because the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corp-oration (BMC) has failed to paint zebra crossings in the city despite a Bombay High Court order in December directing it to do so.

Civic chief, Subodh Kumar, could be hauled up for contempt of court because the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has failed to paint zebra crossings in the city despite a Bombay High Court order in December directing it to do so.

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The BMC has managed to paint only 314 of 752 zebra crossings because the contract awar-ded for the job ended in January.

The high court on Monday gave the BMC a day to file an affidavit and said it would issue a contempt notice to Kumar if it is not satisfied with the corporation’s explanation.

The court was hearing a PIL filed by the Bombay Bar Association on violation of traffic rules. Advocate Armin Wandrewala, who has intervened in the PIL, said that the high court had extended the deadline for painting zebra crossings twice, on September 30 and December 2, 2010.

When the BMC asked the court for another extension, justice DK Deshmukh asked: “Have you extended the time? Why should we not issue contempt against the commissioner? Our orders have been breached.”