Bombay HC directs BMC to make better, more lasting repairs of potholes

The counsel appearing for the Central Road Research Institute (CRRI) Advait Sethna, informed the court that the Indian Road Congress under the Ministry of Road and Surface Transport has come up with guidelines for road repairs and there were various methods for road repairing recommended by the CRRI based on these guidelines. The court has now asked for the Indian Road Congress to be made a party to the petition.

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The court has also asked the civic body to see if some of the nine methods mentioned by the research institute can be adopted to ensure better results. “So far as the CRRI is concerned, there are many advanced methods of repairing potholes. The BMC says it has tried two of the methods and found them to be not feasible. Out of the nine, while others have been found to be too costly, the civic body should see if the remaining five methods are feasible and can be used in the future for repairing potholes,” the court observed.

With the BMC likely to hold a meeting in this regard on July 13, the court said that this matter of exploring other methods should be taken up in the meeting. “There are allegations made that roads in various places are in a bad shape. The BMC should forward such complaints to the department concerned to monitor that relevant action is taken,” said the court.

Senior Counsel Anil Sakhare, appearing for the BMC, informed the court that meetings to find solutions to these issues were taking place. “The meetings are being attended by experts from CRRI and IIT also. A new technology — eco-green — which is being used in Austria, is also being considered,” he said.

A division bench of Justices Shantanu Kemkar and M S Karnik was also hearing a suo motu (on its own) Public Interest Litigation regarding the conditions of roads in Mumbai in which several other petitions were combined related to the bad condition of eastern and western express highways.

During the last hearing, the BMC had informed court that instead of receiving complaints through Facebook, which was not found to be feasible, the civic body has commissioned a mobile App ‘MCGM 24×7’ to receive the complaints of citizens. One of the interveners in the matter, however, said that he could not upload photos using the App ad it did not give a complaint registration number. Taking note of this, the court said, “We have been informed that the system of mobile App is not working properly. All efforts shall be made so that the system works and other options should also be explored for receiving complaints.”

The intervener, meanwhile, pointed to the issue of potholes along the Western Express Highway which was leading to traffic jams, while another pointed to the issue of open manholes along the Eastern Express Highway. The court has asked the government to look into both these complaints.