MUMBAI: Taking a strong stand against years of administrative apathy over the deteriorating state of roads across Maharashtra, the Bombay High Court on Monday directed the formation of monitoring committees at multiple levels to hold government officials and contractors accountable.
A division bench of justices Revati Mohite Dere and Sandesh D Patil also ordered all civic bodies and other planning authorities—including Mhada, MSRDC, CIDCO, and others—to compensate families of those who died in pothole-related accidents. Each family is to receive ₹6 lakh within eight weeks, while injured victims are to be paid between ₹50,000 and ₹2.5 lakh, depending on the severity of injuries.
The bench clarified that this compensation is separate from any other legal remedies the victims may pursue. It also ruled that the authorities paying the compensation must recover the amount from the contractor or official responsible for the pothole.
The ruling came in a public interest litigation (PIL) that the court took up suo motu (on its own) in 2013, after then-justice GS Patel wrote a letter highlighting the “pathetic condition” of Mumbai’s roads. More than a decade later, the court noted that “repeated judicial interventions since 2015,” the same issues reappear every monsoon, pointing to the lack of sustained compliance and negligence of public authorities.
The PIL has since exposed systemic failures across civic bodies, state agencies, and contractors responsible for road upkeep. The court observed that although various government guidelines and complaint systems exist on paper, citizens continue to suffer injuries and even death due to potholes.
Taking strong note of recurring lapses, the high court has now directed the Maharashtra government to constitute permanent coordination and review committees at the city, regional, and state levels. These panels will include senior officials from municipal corporations, MMRDA, MSRDC, the public works department, along with representatives from technical institutes such as IIT Bombay and the Central Road Research Institute (CRRI).
The committees have been tasked with annual pre-monsoon inspections, ensuring that repairs and resurfacing work are carried out scientifically and within timelines. Crucially, they will also be responsible for reviewing the performance of contractors and civic officials, recommending penalties or blacklisting where shoddy work or corruption is established.
“The right to properly maintained streets is a fundamental right of citizens,” the bench said, adding that government engineers and officials who fail in their duties could face disciplinary action, including suspension or dismissal. To improve transparency, the court also ordered that the names of contractors, deadlines, and restoration timelines be clearly displayed at every worksite.
Reviving its earlier directives, the court ordered the state government to make functional a centralised single-window complaint mechanism through toll-free numbers, websites, and mobile applications, enabling citizens to report potholes, upload photographs, and track repairs. It expressed dismay that earlier initiatives, such as the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai’s “Voice of the Citizen” and “MCGM 24×7” apps, were either non-functional or poorly maintained.
“The grievance redressal system cannot be symbolic,” the bench said, warning that continued failures to operationalise these mechanisms would invite contempt action.
The court observed that despite crores being spent annually on road repairs, potholes reappear after just a few showers, suggesting either substandard material use or the absence of quality control. It also highlighted how tenders were repeatedly awarded to the same agencies without accountability for past defects.
The bench stated that both contractors and certifying officials must be held jointly liable for poor road quality. It made quality assurance audits mandatory before final payments are made, and directed civic authorities to recover funds from defaulting contractors.