The Kochi Corporation shall pay a woman, who fractured her right hand after she tipped over a concrete slab on MG Road near Cochin Hospital, a compensation of ₹5 lakh and 6% interest from the date of her complaint seeking damages, ordered the Ombudsman for Local Bodies.
Issuing the order, Ombudsman P.S. Gopinathan noted that the Corporation could not run away from the responsibility of paying compensation as it had failed in its responsibility regarding upkeep of city roads. It could not even file a statement denying responsibility to pay compensation.
The civic body had contended that the road was owned by the Public Works department (PWD). However, it admitted that its workers used to remove slabs laid on drains for cleaning them. In these circumstances, one could infer that the accident had taken place due to negligence on the part of the Corporation, the Ombudsman concluded.
