Morbi bridge collapse PIL: Uniform maintenance policy for civic bridges soon, Guj govt tells HC

Ahmedabad, Feb 20 (PTI) The Gujarat government on Monday told the High Court it will come up with a uniform policy on maintenance of bridges in the jurisdiction of municipalities and municipal corporations.

The announcement was made by Advocate General Kamal Trivedi during the hearing of a suo motu PIL following the deaths of 135 persons after a British-era suspension bridge over Machchhu river collapsed in Morbi town in October last year.

The division bench of Chief Justice Sonia Gokani and Justice Sandeep Bhatt will hear the PIL further on Tuesday.

During the hearing on Monday, Trivedi informed the bench a policy in the form of a circular issued in 1990 existed for maintenance and inspection of bridges managed by the state Roads and Building Department (R&B), but no such policy has ever been prepared by the Urban Development Department (UDD), which handles the affairs of municipalities and municipal corporations.

The 1990 circular of Roads and Building Department does not apply to bridges which fall under the UDD, including the one that collapsed in Morbi, he told court.
As per the 1990 circular of R&B department, district level engineers are directed to inspect bridges in their jurisdiction twice every year, that is before and after monsoon, with those signing the supervision report and certifying the structure as fit being held responsible in case of any mishap.

On Chief Justice Gokani asking about fixing responsibility in case of bridges under UDD, Trivedi said the state government was coming up with a policy in this regard in a week’s time.

“That policy is under process and we will place it on record here. It is being prepared by UDD. We will come up with a holistic policy for municipal corporations and municipalities,” he informed court.

“At present, each urban body follows their own procedure with regard to bridge maintenance. They follow guidelines issued by R&B Department. That is why we are planning to bring a uniform policy for all the local bodies” the AG added.

At present, there are 63 bridges under the jurisdiction of UDD that require repairs, comprising 16 in municipalities and 47 in the limits of civic corporations.
Of these, repair work has been completed for 33 bridges, is underway in 29, while one structure has been shut down, he told court.

Of the 29 bridges where repairs are underway, 11 require major work, he said.