HC wants ‘permanent’ solution to Mumbai’s pothole problem

Observing that it is the constitutional obligation of the Maharashtra government to provide pothole-free roads to its citizens, the Bombay High Court on Tuesday asked it to come up with a ‘permanent’ solution to potholes. The HC has asked the authorities to seek ‘expert opinion’ to end the annual pothole problems.

A division bench of Justices Abhay Oka and Riyaz Chagla said, “It is noted that a huge amount of money is spent on the work of filling potholes but still one can see them back every year during monsoon. This would not serve any purpose.”

“We think that there must be a permanent solution to the potholes. The authorities can seek expert opinion as to what kind of material must be used to ensure that the potholes issue do not arise again,” the bench added.

The bench clarified that the government cannot shirk its responsibility of providing reasonable roads to the citizens. “Let us clarify, it is the constitutional obligation of the government and also other concerned authorities to ensure roads under their jurisdiction are maintained properly. We believe, providing roads without potholes is the bare minimum the government and other authorities can do for citizens,” Justice Oka remarked.

The observations were made in response to the submissions of the government as well as the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) that they would complete the concretisation of the Mumbai-Goa highway, by January 2020.

The bench was seized with a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by advocate Owais Pechkar highlighting the ‘bad condition’ of the Mumbai-Goa National Highway.

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.

“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,” Pechkar had argued.

The matter has been adjourned till August 7.