Mumbai-Goa NH widening: Bombay HC seeks status report from NHAI, PWD

A division bench of Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Arif S Doctor was hearing a PIL by lawyer Owais Anwar Pechkar, a resident of Chiplun in Konkan, who commutes along the highway. The PIL sought directions to the state government and NHAI to resolve issues faced by the commuters, including measures to fix potholes on NH-66, which is prone to accidents, and to expedite the widening work and complete the project at the earliest.

In 2022, the high court observed that the work pace to widen the highway, which had started in 2010, was “disappointing to say the least”, and directed to expedite the work.

In July this year, the high court had imposed a cost of Rs 50,000 payable to the petitioner for litigation expenses, on the NHAI and state PWD as the petitioner had to approach court several times due to a breach of undertaking by authorities related to the repair work of the highway.

On Wednesday, government pleader P P Kakade, on instructions from the executive engineer (National Highway Division), PWD, stated that a panel of experts had been formed to find out the reasons for the collapse that took place last month. The panel is likely to conduct a probe and submit a report within 15 days.

The court sought a status report and the committee’s report during the next hearing on January 3.