The right to have roads in reasonable condition is part of fundamental rights of every citizen, observed the Bombay High Court on Wednesday, directing the municipal corporations to maintain all the roads including footpaths “in good and proper condition”. The HC has further directed all corporations and the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority, Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation and Mumbai Port Trust to provide a mechanism to enable citizens to file complaints about the poor condition of roads. These agencies have been asked to create four methods to receive complaints. The mechanisms include receiving complaints in writing at designated centers, through dedicated toll free numbers, website and by text messages. [related-post] “The dedicated websites shall be designed in such a way so that citizens are able to upload the photographs of the potholes. System of tracking shall also be made available to track the action taken on the basis of the complaints received,” said Justices A S Oka and C V Bhadang, seeking compliance of these directions by June 30. The court was hearing a suo moto (on its own) PIL regarding the conditions of roads in Mumbai in which several other petitions were combined related to the bad condition of the Eastern and Western Express Highways. Stating that the general condition of roads in all major cities in the state is far from being satisfactory, the court said that there are potholes on the roads and they are “ not properly levelled and surfaced”. “Right to have roads in reasonable condition is a part of the fundamental right guaranteed under Article 21 (Right to Life) of the Constitution of India. Existence of such fundamental right creates corresponding obligation in all the authorities,” said the HC, adding that it is the “legal obligation “ of all the authorities to maintain streets in “pothole-free condition”. In case of of infringement of the fundamental rights, a citizen can demand compensation apart from seeking the enforcement of the right, observed the HC. The court further directed municipal corporations to ensure display boards while granting permissions to various authorities to carry out digging work on the streets. The HC said that the information regarding name of the agency which is doing the excavation work, the extent of excavations permitted and the period within which the work has to be completed should be displayed besides containing the outer limit within which the road will be restored to its original condition. The court further observed, “Very heavy rains during monsoon is one of the excuses given by the authorities in Mumbai and Thane Districts. Such excuse is not available as there is a heavy downpour every year and all the authorities are under an obligation to deal with the situation created by heavy downpour in these two districts.” ruhi.bhasin@expressindia.com
