Kerala High Court slams NHAI over NH-66 road collapse due to rains

The Kerala High Court on Friday pulled up the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) over the recent collapse of the portions of the newly constructed six-lane National Highway-66 in various parts of Kerala [CP Ajithkumar & Anr. v State of Kerala & Ors.]..Following continuous rainfall over the last week, incidents of road collapse, cracks and soil slips were reported from Thrissur, Malappuram and Kannur districts, raising serious concerns over the quality of newly constructed stretches of the National Highway..Justice Devan Ramachandran today remarked that the citizens of Kerala are not happy with what has happened, especially since they had shown patience and hope in the face of prolonged construction delays.The judge emphasised that the authorities must waste no time in taking steps to alleviate public concern and asked NHAI whether it still has confidence in the expertise of the contractors engaged in the construction..NHAI agreed to expeditiously file a report detailing the causes of the damage and outlining the measures being taken..The judge made these observations while hearing a writ petition originally filed in 2008 concerning public road safety. The matter was kept open so that the Court can periodically take up the matter as and when issues arise..Standing counsel for NHAI, advocate Bindan Chandran, today assured the Court that authorities are fully monitoring the matter and water damage appeared to be the main cause of the collapse.He also informed the Court that action has been initiated against the companies responsible for the collapsed portions of the highway, and that the contractors involved have been blacklisted.NHAI is also ready to make any necessary structural changes on affected highway stretches to prevent such incidents from recurring, Chandran submitted. He added that NHAI officers were already at the affected sites and that corrective steps were being planned in consultation with all necessary stakeholders..The Court made it clear that the people's faith in public infrastructure cannot be betrayed and said that it expects comprehensive answers from NHAI in the next hearing.