Why do potholes develop in Bengaluru after rains? Karnataka High Court orders BBMP Chief Engineer to be present for next hearing

The Karnataka High Court on Thursday issued a strict warning to the Chief Engineer of Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) regarding fixing of pothole-ridden roads in Bengaluru [Vijayan Menon v. Secretary and Anr]..A Division Bench headed by Chief Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi and Justice Suraj Govindaraj said that a compliance report filed by the BBMP on the filling of potholes was a sham, and went as far as to observe that the Chief Engineer should be behind bars for the state of the roads in the city."We are concerned with why potholes develop throughout the city after every rains. What type of technology are you using? What procedure are you adopting? This shows the quality of the work," said the Chief Justice.The Court then sought the personal presence of the Chief Engineer for the next hearing on February 7..The Court was hearing a writ petition filed in 2015, prompted by four deaths which were caused by accidents owing to the state of city roads. Senior Advocate SR Anuradha, who represented the petitioners, requested the BBMP to submit a report on the technology and procedure for filling potholes.."The perusal of the status report itself indicates that the roads have not been made pothole-free. Even as per said report, the work of filling up potholes has been done to the extent of 1314 km out 1344.84 km of major roads. Similarly, out of 12,529.79 km zonal ward roads, the work has been done on 12046.82 km. More than 30 km in major roads and 482 km in zonal ward roads the pothole work has not been done," the Court in its order after going through the report.The report filed by the BBMP also indicated that Bangalore Electricity Supply Company Limited (BESCOM), Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) and GAIL have undertaken digging and insertion of pipelines in roads, causing road distress and resulting in the formation of more potholes. The repair work is to be done by these agencies, who have not done so in the time period prescribed, the report stated. .The Court suggested that there should be some policy for coordination between BBMP and the agencies who are permitted to dig up roads for certain work.BBMP lawyer Advocate KN Puttegowda said that the previous population of Bangalore was 40-50 lakh, which has risen to 1.3 crore, resulting in unprecedented stress and load on the roads. The Court, however, was not satisfied with the explanation..It further noted that the BBMP has failed to show the procedure and technology adopted to carry out the pothole repair work."Moreover, the technology used by BBMP in repair of the roads and pothole repair does not appear to be proper. It causes improper working of road repair by BBMP. We are not satisfied with the status report submitted by the BBMP. The BBMP shall inform as to what technology is being adopted by them for the repair of the city roads and whether they have engaged any experts and outside agencies who are experts in the construction and repair of roads for this work. The procedure adopted by the BBMP shall be brought on record, and the policy if any for permitting these agencies or bodies to cut the road and repair it in a time bound manner.".The Bench eventually directed the Chief Engineer of BBMP to be present in court on the next date of hearing, February 7..Follow Bar and Bench channel on WhatsAppDownload the Bar and Bench Mobile app for instant access to the latest legal news.