Bombay HC Raps State On Pothole Deaths, Seeks Policy For Victim Compensation

Mumbai: Taking a serious view of accidents occurring due to potholes, the Bombay High Court on Thursday asked the state government to consider framing a policy to compensate victims or their kin. It emphasized that contractors should be held accountable and penalties should be recovered from the salaries of the concerned civic officers.

Court pulls up BMC, other authorities

A bench of Justices Revati Mohite-Dere and Sandesh Patil expressed severe displeasure over the passing of the buck by various agencies and authorities regarding road maintenance and pothole repairs. “Each one of you is passing the buck,” the court chided the counsels for the agencies.

BMC’s pothole claim questioned

BMC counsel Anil Sakhare informed the bench that only 688 potholes remain to be repaired under its jurisdiction. The BMC receives complaints related to potholes and fixes them within 48 hours, he claimed. Sakhare said they had received 15,526 complaints from citizens and that junior engineers had detected 11,808 potholes across the city and suburbs.

Unsatisfied with the explanation, the court questioned the BMC over the recurrence of potholes on newly constructed roads, which often lead to accidents. “If a pothole fills with water, a person may not see it,” the bench observed.

Deaths highlight gravity of issue

The court was informed that six deaths due to potholes had occurred in Mumbai and the MMR during this monsoon season—three in Bhiwandi-Nizampur, and one each in Thane, Kalyan, and Mumbai.

The judges criticized the counsels for the respective civic bodies when they claimed that the deaths were due to negligence of truck drivers or bikers and not potholes. “To avoid a pothole, one may take a detour. That is the main cause,” the judges emphasized.

‘Why potholes at all?’ asks bench

When the BMC claimed that pothole complaints had decreased over the years, the judges questioned why potholes should exist at all. “Why should roads constructed by you develop potholes in one rain? What action have you taken against the contractors?” the bench asked. When the judges pointed out that there were no potholes outside the High Court for years, Sakhare replied: “Yes, outside the High Court.”

Accountability and compensation

The civic counsel argued that other agencies—the MMRDA, MSRDC, PWD, MHADA, and Port Trust—were also responsible for maintaining roads under their jurisdiction.

To this, the bench quipped: “We are on a larger issue. If a person sustains injury or dies due to a pothole, who is to be held responsible? There has to be accountability.”

It further suggested that if civic officers were found to be corrupt or in connivance with contractors, they should be held accountable and face consequences.

State told to frame policy

When the counsels for the corporations of Navi Mumbai, Mira-Bhayander, and Thane, along with other authorities, said their roads were well maintained, the court chided them again for passing the buck.

“Each one of you, see how you are passing the buck. We don’t know who it is. We will direct the state,” the bench said, while asking government pleader OS Chandurkar to take instructions on whether the government was willing to frame a policy for awarding compensation to victims and their kin.

“Can the state come up with a policy for pothole-related injury and death? Making corporations accountable for their actions. Recovering compensation from the salaries of civic officials. It should not be a small penalty. They should feel the pinch,” the bench added.

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Directives for quick repair

The bench then directed municipal officers present in court to make contractors accountable for shoddy work and ensure that potholes in their jurisdiction are repaired within a week.

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