KOCHI: The Kerala high court on Thursday asked whether the roads in Kochi are pasted to the ground using glue for them to fall into disrepair at the first sight of monsoon.
Severely criticizing Kochi Corporation and Public Works Department (PWD) for the bad condition of roads owned by them in Kochi, justice Devan Ramachandran warned of strict action against the engineers and contractors concerned.
Cautioning that maximum action warranted in law will be taken against those responsible for the bad roads, the court said in the order, “The Contractors and Engineers will be certainly taken to task, particularly when, at the first sight of monsoons, the surfaces of the roads seem to be withering away. This cannot be tolerated any further.” The court ordered the Corporation and the PWD to submit lists containing names of the engineers responsible for each of the broken roads and the action taken against them by the next hearing on July 18th.
The court’s directive came after the amici curiae informed the court that the roads in the city have gone into a state of disrepair. Responding, the court said, “If this is so, it is extremely tragic and I must say that the stakeholders and the Engineers are forcing this Court to act very strongly.”
Through Thursday’s order, the court also directed the Kochi city police commissioner to file a report on why action has not been taken to ensure that pedestrian pathways are safe. The secretary of the Corporation will be held personally responsible if the cables overhanging pedestrian pathways are not removed in the next few days, the court’s order stated.
