HC raps state, NHAI over widening work

MUMBAI: Pulling up the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and the Maharashtra government for the inordinate delay in widening the Mumbaigoa national highway, the Bombay high court (HC) on Wednesday asked who should be held responsible for the numerous deaths that have happened on it due to road accidents.

“Accidents are taking place because of this delayed widening work and several people have lost their lives,” said the bench comprising acting chief justice Naresh Patil and justice Rajesh Ketkar.

The HC’S comments came after public interest litigation petitioner, Owais Pechkar, approached it to complain about the extremely poor condition of the Mumbai-goa national high- way, claiming large parts of the 471km stretch were riddled with potholes and hence, making it unfit to drive on.

Pechkar’s petition mentioned the case of six family members who lost their lives in an accident on the highway on Tuesday and questioned the claim that the state government had “substantially” repaired or filled potholes on the road. Pechkar said the problem had been improperly fixed by the use of paver blocks.

The first 83km of the highway from Panvel to Indapur falls within the purview of the NHAI while the remaining 387km comes under the state government. Both authorities had earlier told the court that they had identified bad patches along the entire highway and assured they would fix all potholes before September 5 — before traffic flow increases for Ganeshotsav.