Potholes on Mumbai-Goa Highway: HC seeks response from authorities

The Bombay High Court on Friday admitted a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) highlighting the ‘bad condition’ of the Mumbai-Goa National Highway. The HC accordingly directed the Maharashtra government to clarify who was responsible for the maintenance and repair work of the national highway, which connect Mumbai and Goa through Panvel.

A division bench of Justices Abhay Oka and Riyaz Chagla sought this clarification after it was informed of the pothole-riddled highway, by advocate Owais Pechkar.

In his plea, Pechkar highlighted the bad condition of the stretch between Panvel and Goa, on the ‘national highway 66’ which has damaged to a larger extend because of the heavy rains. He also furnished photographs of the stretch, highlighting the numerous pothole on it.

Pechkar argued, “Given the forthcoming Ganesh festival, several citizens would use this stretch to travel to their home-towns in Konkan region. This road can thus pose a serious threat to countless citizens, who would use it and are using it on a daily basis.”

Having heard the submissions, Justice Oka sought to know from the government of the steps it had taken, either to repair the potholes on the highway or issued directions to the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) to deal with the issue.

“We want to know who is responsible for this road. If the NHAI is responsible then we will issue a notice to them and hear their say. Meanwhile, we also want to know from the government to inform us what it has done till date to ensure that the NHAI carried out timely repair and maintenance on the highway,” Justice Oka said.

The judges while posting the matter for hearing next week, also reminded the government the detailed judgment, they passed, earlier this year. It may be noted that in this judgment, the bench has asked the government to compensate each and every citizen or their families, who have faced injuries or lost life due to accidents on bad roads.