HC: Potholes make it impossible to keep track of every traffic accident; BMC is in charge of maintaining motorable roads
The Bombay High Court (HC) said on Monday that it is not feasible to continuously monitor every traffic accident brought on by potholes and that, in the end, the city’s municipal authority is in charge of making sure there are motorable roads and sidewalks that are safe for pedestrians to use.
A division bench consisting of Chief Justice Devendra Upadhyaya and Justice Arif Doctor reported via the news wire PTI that while the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) claimed to have spent Rs 273 crore on pothole repairs during the monsoon, the state of the roads is still subpar.
Advocate Ruju Thakker was pleading with the HC to hold the BMC officials in contempt for their refusal to carry out the 2018 HC decisions. The ruling issued by HC stipulated that all arterial roads in Mumbai city and its surrounding areas have to have potholes repaired.
Since last year, the petitioner has brought up many deadly traffic incidents caused by potholes to the attention of the bench. It’s becoming harder to keep track of every single pothole and traffic incident. In the end, CJ Upadhyaya said, “It is their (BMC) responsibility,” the PTI article continued.
Anil Sakhare, a BMC attorney, told the court that the city’s roads are being concreted, which would address the problem of potholes. Of the 2,050 km of roads in the city, 1,224 km have been concretized, and 356 km are undergoing construction, according to the BMC declaration.
On April 15, the HC bench will take up the case again.
Meanwhile, citizen activists have been accusing BMC of filling potholes with paver blocks even after investing hundreds of crores in innovative technology to address the problem. BMC reported in September 2023 that it has patched 69,533 potholes in Mumbai’s city and suburbs since May 1. While the figure seems satisfactory on paper, residents assert that the actual situation defies BMC’s assertions.
In addition, BMC said that after contracts were issued to concretize several municipal roads, it fined contractors Rs 28.15 crore for not completing the task.
