Bombay HC directs civic bodies to take prompt action on complaints about potholes

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Citing the death of a 23-year-old man who was run over by a bus after he fell off his motorcycle on hitting a pothole in Thane, the Bombay High Court has asked civic bodies to take prompt action whenever they get complaints of potholes.

A bench of Justices A K Menon and M S Karnik said that the Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) must take action against those responsible for not having complied with a 2018 high court order on fixing potholed stretches and repairing roads across the state.

"People are dying. You (civic bodies) must prevent accidents, and save lives. You have to act immediately once potholes are brought to your notice," the court said.

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Referring to the Thane incident, the court said, "The TMC has the responsibility to take action against such non-compliance (of the 2018 order), as people are dying."

In 2018, the high court had initiated a suo moto (on its own) PIL and directed all municipal corporations and councils across the state to repair arterial roads under their jurisdiction.

In 2021, the court had directed all civic bodies to file compliance reports detailing the number of complaints on potholes they had received, number of accidents and deaths due to potholes and bad roads, repairs carried out etc.

On Thursday, the bench noted that only seven out of the concerned 27 municipal bodies had filed their compliance reports.

The court directed all civic bodies that were a party to the PIL to file their respective compliance reports immediately.

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