Nagpur: Censuring the civic and power authorities for failing to remove electric poles from roads from the last 15 years, the Nagpur bench of Bombay High Court on Wednesday, directed them to immediately shift them within five months.
A division bench comprising justices Sunil Shukre and Shreeram Modak directed respondents to grant letter of intent for shifting of poles to contractors within one week and they were asked to start work in next four weeks. Before adjourning the hearing for five months, the judges asked respondents to complete entire exercise before that.
The directives came while hearing a suo motu PIL (No 98/2018) based on TOI’s reports on electric poles standing right in the middle of roads. The newspaper reported how NMC’s failure to remove these polls over the years, despite HC’s clear orders in 2011, was proving deadly for the motorists and continue to claim many lives till date.
While flaying the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited’s (MSEDCL) managing director and Nagpur Municipal Corporation’s (NMC) commissioner, amicus curiae Shreerang Bhandarkar demanded to initiate contempt proceedings against both for failure to adhere to HC’s directives.
He pointed out that funds meant for shifting of poles was diverted for other works by both agencies, even as citizens continue die to due accidents, particularly during night hours. The first PIL was filed by NGO Janmanch in 2005 in this regard, after which many orders were passed by the court, however, the respondents didn’t do anything for last 14 years and stalling delayed the work while citing one or other excuses, said Bhandarkar.
In the last hearing on December 4, the judges directed state urban development department’s (UDD) principal secretary to monitor the steps, the corporation proposes to take. Before asking all respondents to file a compliance report, they told HC registry to dispatch order copy to UDD secretary and MSEDCL MD by fastest mode of communication. The registry was also asked to supply steno copy of this order to NMC counsel Sudhir Puranik and MSEDCL lawyer AM Quazi, so that they could prepare for the reply.
Bhandarkar pointed out that the respondents failed to comply with HC’s directives of August 17, 2011, in Janmanch’s plea to remove the poles, which they described as “death traps”. The then division bench comprising justices Sharad Bobde and MN Gilani had directed MSEDCL and NMC to remove all 8,834 poles and transformers standing in the middle of roads, after their expansion under Integrated road Development Project (IRDP), before April 30, 2012.
A division bench comprising justices Sunil Shukre and Shreeram Modak directed respondents to grant letter of intent for shifting of poles to contractors within one week and they were asked to start work in next four weeks. Before adjourning the hearing for five months, the judges asked respondents to complete entire exercise before that.
The directives came while hearing a suo motu PIL (No 98/2018) based on TOI’s reports on electric poles standing right in the middle of roads. The newspaper reported how NMC’s failure to remove these polls over the years, despite HC’s clear orders in 2011, was proving deadly for the motorists and continue to claim many lives till date.
While flaying the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited’s (MSEDCL) managing director and Nagpur Municipal Corporation’s (NMC) commissioner, amicus curiae Shreerang Bhandarkar demanded to initiate contempt proceedings against both for failure to adhere to HC’s directives.
He pointed out that funds meant for shifting of poles was diverted for other works by both agencies, even as citizens continue die to due accidents, particularly during night hours. The first PIL was filed by NGO Janmanch in 2005 in this regard, after which many orders were passed by the court, however, the respondents didn’t do anything for last 14 years and stalling delayed the work while citing one or other excuses, said Bhandarkar.
In the last hearing on December 4, the judges directed state urban development department’s (UDD) principal secretary to monitor the steps, the corporation proposes to take. Before asking all respondents to file a compliance report, they told HC registry to dispatch order copy to UDD secretary and MSEDCL MD by fastest mode of communication. The registry was also asked to supply steno copy of this order to NMC counsel Sudhir Puranik and MSEDCL lawyer AM Quazi, so that they could prepare for the reply.
Bhandarkar pointed out that the respondents failed to comply with HC’s directives of August 17, 2011, in Janmanch’s plea to remove the poles, which they described as “death traps”. The then division bench comprising justices Sharad Bobde and MN Gilani had directed MSEDCL and NMC to remove all 8,834 poles and transformers standing in the middle of roads, after their expansion under Integrated road Development Project (IRDP), before April 30, 2012.
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