Submit reports or face consequences, High Court warns PWD

 

 

 

The Division Bench of Justice Nitin Sambre and Justice Vrushali Joshi at the High Court here, was very unhappy with the Public Works Department (PWD) officials. On Wednesday, the Bench asked why the engineer had not followed the court’s order and why he should not be punished with contempt of court proceedings against him. The Court told the PWD engineer to send a proper reply by December 18. This happened during hearing on Public Interest Litigation about bridges in Nagpur, including one from the National Academy of Direct Taxes (NADT) to Jaripatka Railway Overbridge (RoB) and another from Mecosabagh to the Central Mine Planning and Design Institute (CMPDI). In a previous hearing, the Court told the PWD engineer to go and check the areas between NADT and Jaripatka RoB and between Mecosabagh and CMPDI.

 

The engineer was asked to report back to the court within three weeks. But the judge asked why the engineer hadn’t done this yet and told him to submit his report by December 18. Advocate Shashibhushan Wahane, who is representing the case, told the court that the report given by a special five-member committee had mistakes about the flyovers on these bridges. The High Court had already asked the Chief Engineer of PWD to explain how the bridges were built. The five-member committee had sent a secret report to the court. The Jaripatka Shopkeepers Association had also asked the court to make sure the bridge is built the right way and in time. The High Court then constituted a committee to check the bridge design. Adv Wahane also said that the engineer included an additional flyover to the original project, which was not needed. The two bridges could meet at a square, which might be dangerous for road users because cars travel very fast there. Also, the landing point of the bridge at Jaripatka was changed, which has blocked the road that used to go to Nazul Layout Colony. 

 

 

In another part of the case, the court was told that the land near the Itarsi Bridge to Jaripatka landing point is causing problems. The NIT told the court in February 2024 that they had asked the state government to buy the land near the Muslim and Christian cemeteries. The problem is that the bridge now ends at the entrance to the graveyard and made it dangerous for people who live nearby. There is a Nazul Layout behind the graveyard, but the road to that area is blocked now. This means that school buses, fire trucks, and ambulances can’t get into the settlement. The people who live there are facing a lot of problems because of this. The court told the PWD engineer to go check the area behind the graveyard and give a report about the situation.