Aastha Thakur
Published on: 19 September 2022 at 22:48 IST
The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) was ordered by the Karnataka High Court on Monday to fill in or repair 221 potholes on critical highways that the corporation had identified within 10 days.
A division bench of Acting Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice S Vishwajith Shetty said, “On instructions Sreenidhi V, counsel for BBMP submits that a total number 2010 potholes were filled up on 14-09-2022 and as per records of BBMP 221 potholes are to be filled up on major roads. It is submitted that 221 aforesaid potholes on major roads shall be repaired within 10 days by using the hot mix.”
“The aforesaid statement is placed on record, BBMP shall submit a compliance report about filling up of 221 potholes along with photographs before the next date of hearing.”
The bench issued the instruction after hearing Vijayan Menon’s plea from 2015, in which he requested instructions for the fixing of potholes on important arterial routes in the city and for the removal of encroachments on storm water drains and drainage systems.
“BBMP is a statutory body and is under an obligation to maintain and repair the roads. The citizens have a right to have roads without potholes which creates a corresponding obligation on the authorities to maintain the roads and to make it pothole free.”
The court ordered the corporation to publicise the grievance procedure it established, which allows residents to file complaints about potholes, and the authority, after doing repair work, uploads photos of the work completed.
The BBMP’s legal counsel also disclosed that road resurfacing tenders had been released, with a completion date of January 31, 2023. 2500 KM of arterial roads in 8 different areas of the city must be resurfaced, and the project must be finished by March 31st 2023. The corporation was ordered by the court to present compliance reports about the same.
Storm Water Drain Encroachments
The Controller and Auditor General of India has submitted a report on the performance audit of management of stormwater drains in Bengaluru Urban area, and the BBMP has received the report. This is in reference to encroachments over storm water drains in the city that recently caused flooding in many parts of the city.
The civic body gave the court its assurance that the BBMP will form a committee of three officials to carry out the proposal included in the report provided by the CAG. whom the bench had directed, that, “The team of officers shall submit a report to this court with regards to steps taken for implementation of measures suggested by CAG.”
Furthermore, it was said that there were 2626 encroachments on storm water drains, 2024 of which have been eliminated, leaving 602 encroachments that are still being cleared daily.
The court then directed, “BBMP to remove 602 encroachments and submit a compliance report once in a fortnight before this court.”
The bench also made it clear that no body may launch a parallel investigation or issue instructions pertaining to the issues at hand in this lawsuit. It goes without saying that all authorities must abide by the judgments of this court.
Furthermore, it is made plain that any deviation from or disregard for the rules established by this court will be taken seriously.
