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"There is at least one road in Kerala which has stood the ravages of monsoon for the last more than a decade and half; and hence citizens cannot be found at fault if believe that if a road is constructed well, it will last", the High Court has observed.
The Kerala High Court yesterday remarked that as it delved into the issue of bad roads, it became apparent that it was result of either corruption or insouciance; and in most times, both.
Examining the angle of corruption, Court noted that uncorroborated inputs point to huge deficiency in the work standards, because the alloted resources do not reach the specified termini.
The bench of Justice Devan Ramachandran directed that the officers under the various District Collectors - in their capacity as Chairman or Chairperson of the Disaster Manager Authority - must be instructed to visit and watch every road and to ensure that all of them are kept free of disaster, lest another accident happened.
"Certainly, the Government of Kerala will be at liberty to issue necessary circulars in this regard, which I order them to do in addition to the one relating to the vigilance cases; but I hereby, direct the District Collectors to act proactively to avert 'man made disasters' on the roads; and I caution them that every further accident will have to be explained by them in future", added the Single judge bench.
Court was further informed by Senior Government Pleader KV Manoj Kumar, appearing for the PWD, that the Vigilance and Anti Corruption Bureau has, in obedience to the directions issued on July 19, 2022, begun vigilance inspection on all roads and persons entrusted with its management and construction, including Engineers and Contractors.
Senior Government Pleader further submitted that as far as National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) is concerned, their Concessionaire refused to even respond to the letters issued to them and that this has led to the bad condition on several stretches.
Kumar also confirmed that the District Collectors are now playing a proactive role and that at least three of them had visited the sites and settled reports on the manner in which the work was being conducted, particularly at the place when a young man lost his life in the unfortunate accident on the 5th August, 2022.
While concluding, the High Court recorded that the Government of India and in particular its Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, have a specific role to play, particularly with respect to the principles of Constitutional Tort, when somebody is killed or injured in an accident on the National Highway.
"They must inform this Court how we must respond to the cri de coeur of the family of a victim, or that of an injured, for having either been killed or put to danger because the Authorities vested with duties did not do it well or neglected it. The Assistant Solicitor General of India – Sri.S.Manu is hereby directed to obtain specific instructions from the said Ministry and place it before this Court - either in the form of a counsel statement or counter pleading, as may be - by the next posting date", ordered the court.
While posting the matter on August 31, 2022 for further hearing, Justice Ramachandran requested the Director of Vigilance to be present online for deliberation, if any, on that date.
Case Title: W.P.(C) Nos.34310/2019 & 32680/2008
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