BENGALURU: The high court on Tuesday warned that it would order the BBMP’s chief commissioner suspension and removal of other officials for incompetence if the city’s pothole problem is not addressed.
A division bench headed by chief justice Ritu Raj Awasthi also observed that it would consider entrusting road-repair work to some other agency.
The court’s oral censure came after the petitioner’s counsel informed there are over 1,500 potholes in the city, but both BBMP and American Road Technology and Solutions company are at loggerheads over pricing.
At this juncture, BBMP counsel said a provisional work order has been issued after an agreement was reached with American Road Technology and Solutions, with a final consolidated rate of Rs 598 per sqm, excluding GST. On the other hand, counsel for American Road Technology and Solutions submitted that they have been given work on only 397km out of 1,392.9km, and the outstanding bills since 2019 have not been cleared by the civic body, putting the company under financial strain.
Granting one last chance to comply with its directions, the high court directed the BBMP chief commissioner and other officials concerned to appear before it on June 30.
