Nagpur Police has given a notice to the officials of civic body on Tuesday and has stated that all the city potholes should be repaired within three days from the date of complaint and failure of it will result in registration of offence against the concerned authorities.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Chinmay Pandit in the latest affidavit has stated that every complaint received by police will be forwarded to the department concerned with request to repair the potholes immediately. If no corrective steps are taken within three days, then the concerned police station under whose jurisdiction the potholes are there on roads will be directed to register an offence under Sections 217 and 283 of Indian Penal Code (IPC) against the responsible officer.
Apart from Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) and Nagpur Improvement Trust (NIT), many agencies like National Highway Authority of India (NHAI), Maha Metro, Public Works Department (PWD), Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), Orange City Water (OCW), Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (MSEDCL) and even the private telecom operators often dug city roads and very rarely restore them to original condition.
Already, the High Court has made it clear that officials and contractors responsible for upkeep of city roads must be made accountable and citizens will not be allowed to suffer due to shocking indifference played by the authorities citing absence of penal provisions or criminal intentions on part of erring officers while in of people are forced to suffer due to such.
In last affidavit, Nagpur Police found no criminal culpability against NMC officials for pathetic conditions of city roads and has claimed that due to wear and tear the roads got damaged. After examining 22 cases of serious mishaps, city police found that no criminal liability could be fastened against a particular civic body. Amicus Curiae Rahil Mirza has repeatedly demanded that officers should be made responsible under Section 63 (18) of Maharashtra Municipal Corporation Act.
NMC has stated that bad roads were one factors but most accidents took place due traffic rule violations, besides no one had lodged complaint against the civic body or officials.
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