High Court sets up monitoring panel for Mumbai roads

MUMBAI: After forcing the authorities in Mumbai and neighbouring Thane district to repair roads against a stiff deadline, the Bombay High Court has now set up a road monitoring committee, to be headed by former Mumbai Police Commissioner Ronny Mendonca.

The five-member committee will have no government officials on it, but its recommendations to the civic authorities shall be as good as binding. The court said if authorities do not want to accept any of the committee’s suggestions, they will have to approach the court for “seeking waiver of its implementation.”

The committee shall start operating from November 1. The committee will monitor conditions of roads in Mumbai and Thane and suggest corrective measures if needed. The road monitoring committee will also “seek and entertain complaints from general public” regarding conditions of roads. It will also monitor implementation of recommendations of standing technical advisory committee, experts’ committee on construction and maintenance of roads set up earlier.

Other members of the committee are former chief engineer of Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) Nandkumar Salvi, activist Garcon D’Cunha, IIT professor Sudhir Badami and advocate Mihir Desai.

Committee’s tenure will one year, which could be extended if the court thinks fit.

MCGM will provide office and other infrastructure to the committee. Also, MCGM and other civic authorities — Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC), Thane Municipal Corporation, Mumbai Port Trust and Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority — will have to appoint an officer on special duty who will be an interface between the committee and the respective authority.

The order on the committee came during Wednesday’s hearing of PILs filed by Sandip Rane and others on worsening condition of city roads. At earlier date, the court had asked all the authorities who are responsible for maintenance of various roads in mumbai and thane to fill up each and every pothole by august 30.

The deadline was extended by a week on august 31 hearing. Today, mcgm and other authorities submitted that by and large potholes have been filled up. Pti krk rmt ksm 10042012 del