"Cannot let roads become killing fields:" Kerala High Court slams NHAI after man dies by falling in pothole

The Kerala High Court on Monday strongly pulled up the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) for failing to maintain its roads leading to the death of an individual who fell into a pothole. [CP Ajithkumar & Anr. v State of Kerala & Ors.] .Justice Devan Ramachandran underscored that all roads need to be repaired at the earliest, before another similar incident occurs.“We can neither wait for another victim; nor can we let the roads of Kerala to be killing fields – whether it be under the NHAI, PWD or the Local Self Government Institutions,” the Court said in its order..The court also bemoaned the fact that such accidents are overlooked and no one takes it seriously until they, or someone they know, become the victim.“The gravity of the situation in Kerala is now for all to see. We do not react until we are the victim or someone we know faces such a situation. It is always as if accidents only happen to others and not to ourselves. But this is a myth, as anybody with reasonable sense would reckon”.With a view to prevent any further tragic incidents, the Court directed the District Collectors, in their capacity as the heads of the District Disaster Management Authorities, to issue orders with respect to any road in which potholes are found and take necessary action against the jurisdictional Engineer, contractors or any other person who may be responsible..The Court made these observations while it was hearing one of its longest pending writ petitions, first moved in 2008, seeking directions to the concerned authorities to ensure the maintenance of the roads they construct.In a previous judgement, the Court, seemingly to no avail, had fixed the primary responsibility on the concerned engineers/staff of the respective departments/ local self government institutions to ensure that repair work in done properly and future repair works are noticed and done without any delay..Even though the case was not listed for hearing this week, the Court took it up on an emergent basis after amicus curiae advocate Vinod Bhat informed the court about the death of an individual due to the state of the NH roads.Justice Ramachandran noted that even now, despite the orders of the Court, the roads eventually fall into disrepair after initial and temporary restoration..Standing counsel for the NHAI, advocate Bidhan Chandra, accepted that there were still some problems and that the stretch of the road where the accident occurred t is a part of the “Build-Operate-Transfer” agreement with the Concessionaire; and that they are responsible for its upkeep, maintenance as also its restoration. He added that though he does not have specific information as to what really went wrong, steps have already been taken to repair every stretch of the National Highway across the State, to ensure that such instances do not recur..Senior Government Pleader KV Manoj Kumar submitted that steps have already been taken to cause an inquiry into the accident and that a necessary criminal investigation is underway. He added that the Concessionaire of the NHAI, for the particular stretch, has been arrayed as an accused and that they will be dealt with as per law..Justice Devan Ramachandran said that though we have several provisions, it is seldom put to effective implementation.He observed that even the District Collectors cannot be mere spectators and react solely when an accident happens, as they are empowered under the Disaster Management Act to act before any disasters occur, even manmade ones."I fail to understand the purpose of an order issued under the Disaster Management Act after an accident has happened. It is surely for the Disaster Management Authority of every District to act proactively to ensure that such do not happen, whether that be in the National Highwa;, PWD Roads; or any other road under the control of the various Local Self Government Institutions", the order stated. .[Read Order]