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The Bombay High Court has sought a timeline from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to make all Mumbai roads fully motorable and free of potholes and unsafe manholes. Hearing a suo motu public interest litigation, the court questioned delays in installing protective manhole grills, sought details of FIRs over missing and stolen covers, and directed the Thane Municipal Corporation to expedite compensation for pothole-related deaths and injuries. The matter will next be heard on July 6.
The Bombay High Court has directed the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to specify how long it will take to ensure that all roads under its jurisdiction are fully motorable and free from potholes and open manholes. The observations came during the hearing of a suo motu public interest litigation concerning road safety, missing protective manhole grills and compensation for victims of pothole-related accidents in Mumbai and neighbouring areas.
A division bench comprising Justices Ajey S. Gadkari and Kamal R. Khata examined an interim application filed by advocate Ruju Thakker, who raised concerns over the condition of roads, the non-installation of protective grills on manholes and delays in compensation to victims or their families. During the proceedings, the judges questioned how many more years the civic body would require before it could confidently state that all roads under its control were completely motorable and compliant with court directions that have remained in force for more than two decades.
The BMC, through an affidavit filed by Chief Engineer (Sewerage Operation) Anilkumar Bhoite, informed the court that Mumbai has 73,437 manholes under its jurisdiction. According to the affidavit, protective grills have been installed on 71,426 manholes, while 2,011 manholes could not be fitted with grills because they are buried or inaccessible. The civic body also maintained that the installation and maintenance of protective grills are undertaken by individual ward offices.
While the BMC submitted that complaints received from citizens regarding potholes and road defects were being resolved, the bench directed the civic administration to submit photographic evidence showing the condition of roads before and after repairs. The judges also sought details of the mechanism used to address public complaints and questioned the effectiveness of existing systems for monitoring road conditions.
The court further scrutinised the issue of missing protective grills after noting figures contained in the BMC affidavit. It observed that A Ward alone had reported 957 stolen protective grills, while H-West Ward recorded the highest number of 1,144 cases involving missing, stolen or tilted grills. The bench directed the civic body to disclose how many first information reports (FIRs) had been registered in connection with these incidents.
The High Court also expressed concern over delays in the payment of compensation for pothole-related deaths and injuries in Thane. It directed the Commissioner of the Thane Municipal Corporation to personally examine pending cases, including the claim involving the family of a toddler who died after falling into a stormwater drain last year. The bench observed that compensation should ordinarily be processed within six weeks in accordance with previous court directions and questioned why the civic body had failed to treat the matter with urgency. The matter has been listed for further hearing on July 6.
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