The Karnataka High Court on Monday refused to stop construction of a steel flyover at Shivananda junction.
A Division Bench comprising acting Chief Justice H.G. Ramesh and Justice P.S. Dinesh Kumar passed the interim order while rejecting an application filed by the petitioners, who have filed a PIL petition questioning the validity of the construction of the steel flyover at the junction.
The petitioners had filed the application seeking a direction for stoppage of construction work while claiming that continuation of the work during pendency of their PIL would result in irreversible damage.
On the contention of the petitioner that not following guidelines of the Indian Road Congress (IRC) in construction of the flyover would pose a threat to public safety, the court noted that the BBMP has taken precautions to ensure public safety as the design of the flyover project was vetted by a technical advisory committee, which included of a former professor of the Indian Institute of Science.
Also, the court pointed out that the BBMP, on objections raised by the petitioners in the PIL on the gradient levels of the flyover, has considerably reduced the gradients of the flyover on both the Race Course Road and the Harekrishna Road stretches than what was originally planned.
On complaint of the petitioners that vertical clearance below the flyover at the junction was not maintained at 5.5 metres as per the IRC guideline, but a vertical clearance of only 4.5 metres has been provided, the court, based on a report submitted by the BBMP on other flyovers and underpasses in the city, noted that vertical clearance at some underpasses is below 4.5 metres.
Regarding petitioners’ claim that IRC guidelines are mandatory for flyover and underpasses, the court said that there was no compulsion on the BBMP to follow all IRC guideline in its entirity.
The bench also observed that the court cannot interject a public project without a valid reason as it involved spending of public money.
