The High Court of Karnataka on Thursday made it clear to the State Government that officers in charge of keeping roads in good condition in Bidar district will be held responsible if any untoward incident occurs due to bad roads.
Also, the court directed the Principal Secretary, Public Works Department, to ensure that works to fill potholes in the entire Bidar district is taken up immediately and the roads are made motorable by carrying out required repairs.
A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi and Justice Sachin Shankar Magadum issued directions while hearing a public interest litigation petition filed in December 2019 by Gurunath Vadde, a resident of Bidar, complaining about poor condition of roads in the district.
Though government counsel on September 20, 2021 gave an undertaking to the court stating that the authorities will ensure that all potholes are repaired, counsel, to a query by the Bench on Thursday, could not state whether the potholes in the entire district have been repaired.
While directing the Principal Secretary to file compliance report by January 18, the Bench also made it clear that the Principal Secretary, along with PWD Chief Engineer and other officers responsible for road works, will have to be personally present before court if the Principal Secretary fails to submit the compliance report.
