Mumbai: The Bombay high court on Thursday directed the state government to appoint a committee to review completed and under-construction roads and bridges and file a report within two months, along with suggestions and guidelines to avoid defective construction in future.
The court also issued several other directions in connection with repair work of the Lalbaug flyover.
The court was hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) alleging that the Lalbaug flyover was not of good quality. The PIL had been filed after a clutch of incidents where some parts of the flyover fell on the road.
A division bench of Justice Abhay Oka and Justice Anuja Prabhudessai in a detailed order directed the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to complete resurfacing, painting and drainage work of the Lalbaug flyover by May 31, so that the public at large does not suffer during monsoon.
According to petitioner Bhagwanji Raiyani’s counsel Sumedha Rao, the court further directed BMC to ensure that structural repairs as per the BMC report commenced on June 1 and were completed within six months. The court also directed BMC to appoint experts from VJTI and IIT to supervise the structural repairs.
Meanwhile, Simplex Infrastructures Ltd too filed an affidavit in the court on Thursday denying all allegations made in the petition. The company categorically stated in the affidavit that maintenance of flyover was not covered within the scope of contract between MMRDA and itself and BMC was responsible for maintenance and repairs of the bridge and was singularly as well as exclusively obligated to maintain it. The affidavit said that “occurrence (falling of part of the flyover and appearance of potholes etc.) was a result of wear and tear of the bridge due to low or no maintenance and the same could not be attributed to structural defect.”
