KOCHI: The Kerala High Court on Friday observed that the creation of a pothole or crater on a road can only be construed as a ‘man-made disaster’ under the provisions of the Disaster Management Act. The court directed the district collectors to act within their statutory powers. “The officers under various district collectors - in their capacity as heads of Disaster Management Authority - must be instructed to visit and watch every road and ensure that all of them are kept free of disaster, lest another accident happens,” said Justice Devan Ramachandran.
The court also directed the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) to file a report regarding the action taken against the concessionaire (contracting firm) in the wake of the recent death of a scooter rider on the national highway at Athani near Nedumbassery. The state government informed the court about the steps taken against the concessionaire under the penal law and to fix constitutional tort liability on it.
The court directed the district collectors to act proactively to avert manmade disasters on roads and cautioned them that every further accident would have to be explained by them in future. The court observed that the more the court delves into the issue of bad roads, it becomes apparent that it was a result of either corruption or insouciance, and in most of them both.
For most of the roads, it was a continuing saga of construction, dilapidation, and construction again which happens in quick succession at least once in a year or multiple times. Therefore, one has to examine the angle of corruption. The uncorroborated input pointed to a huge deficiency in the standard of work because the allotted sources did not reach the specified terminal.
Appearing for PWD, senior government pleader K V Manoj Kumar submitted that the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau had begun inspections on all roads and the person entrusted with its management and construction including engineers and contractors will be held responsible for any irregularity.