Supreme Court transfers Bihar bridge safety case to Patna High Court
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Wednesday transferred to the Patna High Court a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by a lawyer, raising concerns about the safety and durability of bridges in Bihar after several collapses in recent months.
During the hearing, a two-judge bench led by Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar considered the Bihar government's response. The government stated that it had inspected more than 1,000 bridges in the state. "We have gone through the counter (affidavit). We are transferring the case to Patna (High Court). In the counter affidavit, they (state authorities) have given details of what they are doing," the bench said.
The Supreme Court directed the Patna High Court to monitor the situation, preferably on a monthly basis, to ensure proper safety and structural audits of the bridges. The court also asked PIL petitioner and lawyer Brajesh Singh, along with state authorities and the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI), to appear before the High Court on May 14 for the next hearing.
Last July, the Supreme Court had asked for a detailed response from the Bihar government and NHAI regarding the plea. The plea sought directions for a high-level structural audit of all existing and under-construction bridges in the state. It also requested that weak structures be either demolished or strengthened based on feasibility.
Singh’s PIL called for the Bihar government to establish a proper mechanism for real-time monitoring of all bridges, including old and under-construction ones. He also urged the creation of a permanent expert body through legislation or executive order. This body would be responsible for monitoring all bridges and maintaining a comprehensive database on their structural health.
Singh pointed out in his PIL that repeated bridge collapses in Bihar indicate that no lessons have been learned and that the safety of critical infrastructure is not being taken seriously. "Back to back collapse of the bridges in Bihar clearly indicates that there has been no lessons learnt and safety of critical infrastructure like bridges is not taken seriously and these routine incidents cannot be termed merely accidents it is manmade disasters," he stated.
He further highlighted that Bihar is India's most flood-prone state, with 73.06% of its total area being flood-affected. He argued that the frequent collapse of bridges in such a state is even more dangerous. "Thereby such routine accrual of the incident of falling bridges in Bihar is more disastrous as the lives of people at large at stake and therefore the urgent intervention of this Court is required to save the lives of people at large who are in the present living in uncertainty, as the under construction bridges before its accomplishment got collapsed routinely," Singh added.
He also mentioned that the Supreme Court had previously ruled under Article 21 of the Constitution that the right to life should not be reduced to mere survival but should be a "Right to Life with dignity." He claimed that bridge collapses are causing significant loss of human lives and public money due to the negligence of the government and corruption among contractors and agencies.
