Nagpur: The Nagpur Bench of Bombay High Court on Wednesday sharply criticised the Public Works Department (PWD) for poor maintenance of service road on Amravati Road, orally declaring, “The PWD engineers are only to feed the contractors with public funds.”
The Division Bench of Justice Nitin Sambre and Justice Abhay Mantri expressed frustration over the PWD’s inaction during a hearing on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL). During the hearing, the court questioned the PWD about the deplorable condition of the service road on Amravati Road, both sides of the under-construction flyover.
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The PWD’s counsel attributed the road’s deterioration to recent rains. The court was taken aback by this response and noted that rain is a global phenomenon. It then questioned the competence of the PWD engineer who was unable to compel contractors to complete the work. “The PWD engineers seem more concerned with feeding contractors than serving the public,” Justice Sambre remarked.
The court ordered the PWD to immediately rectify the service road. The PIL has been filed by Arun Rohidas Patil in 2019, over the poor state of roads in Nagpur. In previous hearings, the court had expressed concern over the deteriorating condition of roads such as the one between Wadi Gurudwara and Wadi Police Station and emphasized the need for proper maintenance.
The Court questioned the contractor’s and PWD’s responsibility in ensuring motorable roads and cited instances of accidents caused by poor road conditions. The court had previously challenged the PWD’s submission of false affidavits regarding road maintenance, service road provision, and construction. It had verbally reprimanded officials from the PWD and the contractor and questioned their commitment to public welfare.
Senior Adv Firdos Mirza, with Adv Shaad Mirza, represented the petitioner. AGP Deepak Thakre represented the State, and Adv Anish Kathane, Adv N S Jadhav, and Adv P V Navlani represented the respondents.
