Morbi Bridge Collapse: The civic body of Morbi, where a bridge collapse on October 30 and claimed more than 130 lives, was given a warning today by the Gujarat High Court for the delay filing a status report despite two notices.
“Yesterday you were acting smart, now you are taking the matter casually,” said the court, “So, either file your reply by this evening, or pay a fine of ₹ 1 lakh.”
“The notice should have been sent to the Deputy Collector, but it was served to the civic body instead, on November 9. Thus, the delay in appearing before this court,” the lawyer said.
If the officials comply with the court’s orders, an affidavit outlining the specifics of how the fall occurred is now anticipated by the evening.
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Case is heard by Chief Justice Aravind Kumar and Justice Ashutosh J. Shastri
The court had independently noted the tragedy and requested responses from at least six departments. The case is being heard by Chief Justice Aravind Kumar and Justice Ashutosh J. Shastri.
The court demanded clear explanations on Tuesday regarding how the 150-year-old bridge maintenance contract was allocated.
“The municipality, a government body, has defaulted, which ultimately killed 135 people,” the court had said as a preliminary observation. It pointedly asked officials to come back with details on whether any condition for certifying fitness of the bridge before its reopening was part the agreement, and who the person responsible was.
“The state shall also place on record reasons why disciplinary proceedings against chief officer of the civic body aren’t commenced,” it had said.
“The largesse of the state seems to have been granted without there being any tender floated in this regard,” its order noted.
Oreva Group, which is best known for the Ajanta brand of wall clocks got 15-year contract by the municipality.
“Was the largesse of the state given to Ajanta company without any tender being floated?” the court had observed.
The basis for the company’s operation of the bridge after June 2017 was requested, “even when [the contract signed in 2008] was not renewed.” This year we signed a new contract.
Only nine corporate employees have been detained thus far, and neither the top management, which approved the $7 billion agreement, nor any of the officials involved have suffered consequences for the bridge’s early reopening.
The company is accused of installing new flooring that proved to be excessively heavy rather than replacing the rusted cables.
The contract’s files were to be presented to the court in a sealed envelope, per their request.
The government told the court yesterday that it worked at “lightning speed” to save lives.
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