Morbi bridge collapse: Municipality’s general board meeting today, to discuss response to govt notice

In its show-cause notice, the urban development department cited a report of a special investigation team (SIT) constituted by the government which concluded that repair and maintenance of the bridge was done by a contractor who did not have required experience and that the chief officer entered into an agreement with OREVA Group without referring the matter to the general board.

“Before the general board meeting, all the councillors of the municipality have been asked to attend a coordination meeting called by the BJP at 11 am on Monday. At the coordination meeting, the party leadership is likely to guide the councillors as to how the general board should respond to the notice of the state government,” a party-insider told The Indian Express.

“While no formal discussion has taken place among the councillors after the state government served the show-cause notice, the general sense among 49 councillors is that the contract signed by the municipality chief officer with Ajanta OREVA Group handing over the operations and maintenance of the bridge to the latter was neither referred to the general board nor had the general board approved of that contract,” the source said, adding, “It was done by the president, the vice-president, the executive committee chairman and the municipality chief officer only.

Therefore, 49 councillors cannot be held responsible for any failures of the municipality in the maintenance and operations of the Jhulto Pul.”

The government notice came after the Gujarat High Court had, while hearing public interest litigation (PIL) initiated suo motu after the collapse, observed that there was a “default” on the part of the Morbi municipality and had asked the state government why it was not using its power under Section 265 of the Gujarat Municipalities Act, 1963 to supersede the civic body.

Subsequently, a group of around 45 councillors of the municipality had, on December 19, met Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel in Gandhinagar to request him not to supersede the municipality as they had no role in the accident and therefore, they should be allowed to serve as councillors for the full five years. Later, 46 councillors had moved the HC with an application, praying they be listed as respondents in the PIL. However, the HC had rejected their plea, while observing that councillors would neither be “necessary nor proper party” and that the application was filed to “thwart” the proceedings. The state’s notice to the municipality also refers to this PIL that is still pending before the HC.

The BJP enjoys an absolute majority in the municipality after having won all the 52 seats in the general election held in 2021. Neither the Congress nor any Independents had managed to open their accounts, leaving the civic body without any formal Opposition party.

The bridge constructed in 1987 by Vaghji Thakor, the then ruler of the erstwhile princely state of Morbi, had collapsed after its main upstream cable snapped on October 30 last year. More than 300 people who were on the deck of the bridge had fallen into the Machchuu river killing 135 of them and injuring 56 others. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had visited the accident site in the aftermath.