Pune : RTI activists file PIL against PMC, state urban development dept, PWD in Bombay High Court
Pune : Petitioners Qaneez-E-Fatemah Sukhrani & Pushkar Kulkarni filed a Public Information Litigation in the Bombay High Court against Pune Municipal Corporation, State Urban Development Dept, Public Works Dept challenging the gross negligence of the Pune Municipal Corporation in repairing, maintaining and layering roads in Pune according to correct scientific technique.
It is a well-known fact that the roads of Pune City are consistently and repeatedly in damaged and ruinous condition. Since times immemorial, citizens of Pune have been accustomed to patches of the road disintegrating, being washed away during the monsoon, being peppered with potholes, and being on uneven levels. Motorists are left to dodge and weave through these dexterously in order to navigate safely. These lead to highly unsafe road conditions and add to traffic volume and congestion on the roads, especially during monsoons. This in turn leads to unnecessary excess use of fuel, emission of pollutants and increase in carbon footprints. These pot-holes also become receptacles for collection of stagnant water because of overflow from sewage and drainage pipelines during the monsoon, housing filth and mosquitos resulting in the rampant spread of vector-borne diseases.
The neglect of the Pune Municipal Corporation is even more egregious in light of the fact that the orders of this Hon’ble Court in multiple Public Interest Litigations has resulted in the constitution of expert panels that have provided over 100 action points for the Municipal Corporation to undertake to repair, maintain and layer roads, streets, lanes within the city.
These expert groups include the State Technical Advisory Committee (“STAC”) and Road Development and Road Maintenance Committee (“RDRMC”). The STAC committee was constituted in 2007 by Pune Municipal Corporation with experts in road engineering from State and City level to suggest technical measures of improving quality of design, specifications and construction of roads and their proper upkeep and to advise on proper maintenance management systems for roads.
The committee submitted a report with 130 detailed technical action points that could be undertaken by the Municipal Corporation to improve the quality of roads. NINE years later, the Pune Municipal Corporation constituted the RDRMC in 2016, which was entrusted with the task of reviewing the STAC Report and the then road development and maintenance scenario in Pune City.
The RDRMC categorically noted at several points in its report submitted August 2016 that the STAC committee recommendations were not being implemented by the Respondent Corporation.
Presently in 2023, SIX years after the submission of the RDRMC report, recommendations of both the STAC and RDRMC reports are yet to be implemented. PMC proceeds with inhouse and knee jerk methods to repair, maintain and layer roads, streets, lanes. Due to the negligence of the Respondent Corporation, citizens of Pune have been constrained to and forced to accept the permanent status of dangerous roads within the city, and annually witness a colossal waste of resources as roads are shoddily and unevenly patched up, and potholes are superficially filled. The end result is a patchwork quilt.
The RTI activist undertook a series of continuous communication from May 2022 onwards addressed to the PMC Commissioner and Principal Secretaries of State Urban Development Dept, raising a range of important questions.
An illustrative list of recommendations/action points that have been recommended by the STAC and the RDRMC Reports is as follows
i. Storm water drainage must be improved so that periodical de-silting is performed prior and during monsoon months along with regular inspections. Proper records of storm water and sewer lines must be maintained with their locations, it was recommended.
ii. The use of Cement Concrete and / or Bituminous Concrete on the roads must be clarified and used appropriately to ensure optimal strength of the road. The design of flexible and rigid pavements should be done with strict compliance of the guidelines of the Indian Road Congress, particularly IRC 37:2012 and IRC 58:2011. The use of Bituminous Macadam shall be eliminated. The location of flexible and rigid pavements should also be decided with proper application of mind. Major roads (above 12m) should be overlaid with concrete over existing BT surface. And mobile equipment should be utilised to check for bitumen content in major projects.
iii. That the Pune Municipal Corporation should adopt the FIDIC (“Federation Internationale Des Ingenieurs-Counseils“) format for documentation in relation to tenders for their works that are to be carried out. This practice is already adopted by the MCGM (Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai). The FIDIC system is a globally accepted format for tenders for road related works and needs to only be suitably altered for the works sought to be done by the Respondent Corporation. There should be no deviation in the time schedule and work-quality of the Pune Municipal Corporation. Contractors should be charged “upwardly graded” penal fees for delay and / or deviation from the requisite work quality for better coordination between PMC and utilities. All reinstatement work should be done by a qualified agency.
iv. The Superintending Engineer / s and Executive Engineer / s from the Road Department should have overall control and should exercise periodic physical supervision and checks. The Pune Municipal Corporation should sanction additional posts at all levels. To ensure Improvement / construction / maintenance of roads, streets, lanes in Pune, a particular road stretch covering all aspects should be allocated to specific Sectional Engineer / Junior Engineer of Road Department or Ward Office.
v. One Junior Engineer should be made exclusively available for overseeing trench work for each ward to closely supervise the work and ensure adherence to guidelines and conditions.
The Pune Municipal Corporation is also not compliant with various Government Resolutions and Circulars regarding maintenance of road quality, despite the fact that the Respondent Corporation has a statutory duty to maintain the roads in Pune under Section 63 (18) of the Maharashtra Municipal Corporation Act, 1949 (MMC Act 1949).
The Petitioners have therefore approached the High Court of Bombay seeking directions that the STAC and RDRMC Committee reports be complied with forthwith and that a committee be constituted comprising of one retired judge, one advocate, two technical experts (one from IIT Bombay, other from the Central Institute of Road Transport) and two citizens of Pune with expertise in the field of Road Engineering, to oversee the implementation of the STAC and RDRMC reports.
