The Supreme Court on Wednesday pulled up the Bihar government observing its officials were suspended after incidents of bridge collapse but brought back after the furore died down.
A bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar made the observation and transferred to the Patna High Court a PIL raising concerns about the safety and longevity of bridges in Bihar while claiming the collapse of several such structures in the recent months.
“Certain officers were duly suspended after the bridge collapse incident only to be brought back after the furore over the incident died down,” the bench observed.
The top court was also critical of the voluminous reply filed by the state government and its authorities to the Public Interest Litigation filed by lawyer petitioner Brajesh Singh.
The counter affidavit of the state government contains a long list of schemes, policies and does not provide any reason for the incidents, the bench said.
Transferring the PIL, the bench said the Patna High Court could monitor, preferably on a monthly basis, the steps taken to ensure structural and safety audits of bridges in Bihar.
The bench asked the petitioner, state authorities and the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) to appear before the high court on May 14 when a future hearing date would be fixed there.
In a brief hearing, the state government said it had inspected around 10,000 bridges in the state.
“We have gone through the counter (affidavit). We are transferring the case to Patna (High Court). In the counter affidavit, they (state authorities) have given details of what they are doing,” the bench said.
On November 18 last year, the top court granted a last opportunity to the Bihar government and others to file its response to the PIL on the issue.
Earlier, the petitioner had moved the court seeking its nod to bring on record various news reports and additional documents to highlight the dilapidated condition of bridges in the state.
On July 29, 2024 the court sought responses from the Bihar government and others, including the National Highway Authority of India on the plea.
