NEW DELHI: The Supreme Courtroom issued discover to the Bihar authorities on Monday, responding to a petition that calls for the state conduct thorough structural audits of all current and under-construction bridges.
The court docket discover follows a plea from advocate Brajesh Singh, calling for the best stage of structural audits for the state’s bridges. This petition goals to sort out the problem of frequent bridge collapses in Bihar, urging both the demolition or retrofitting of weak buildings.Filed by Singh, the petition highlights the pressing want for these measures to forestall additional lack of life and property.
Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud led a bench that instructed the Bihar authorities and different involved respondents to answer to the petition.
The petition outlines that inside the final two years, three main under-construction bridges have collapsed in Bihar, leading to accidents and fatalities. The incidents additionally embody the collapse of varied different massive, medium, and small bridges, underscoring what Singh describes as gross negligence and corruption by the federal government and contractors.
“It’s a matter of grave concern that in a state like Bihar, which is probably the most flood-prone state of India, the whole flood-affected space within the state is 68,800 sq. km., which is 73.06 per cent of the whole geographical space of the state and therefore such routine accrual of the incident of falling bridges in Bihar is extra disastrous because the lives of individuals at massive are at stake and due to this fact the pressing intervention of this Hon’ble Courtroom is required to save lots of the lives of individuals at massive who’re within the current dwelling within the uncertainty, because the under-construction bridges earlier than its accomplishment bought collapsed routinely,” mentioned the petitioner.
Singh urges the court docket to compel Bihar to develop a concrete coverage or mechanism just like one outlined by the ministry of street transport and highways for real-time well being monitoring of bridges.
The petitioner additionally seeks “applicable course, particularly the State of Bihar, for making correct coverage or mechanism for real-time monitoring of the bridges constructed, outdated and beneath development with regard to the bridges falling solely beneath the area of the respondent, state of Bihar on the identical analogy as developed by the Ministry of Highway Transport and Highways, Authorities of India, vide dated March 4 2024 for preservation of Nationwide Highways and Centrally Sponsored Schemes and it was issued as a compulsory guideline vide, subjected, ‘identification and implementation of real-time well being monitoring of bridges utilizing sensors’ to the states together with the respondent.”
Additional, Singh calls for the creation of a everlasting oversight physique comprising area consultants for the continual monitoring of all bridges inside the state. This physique would preserve a complete database to maintain monitor of the well being of all current and under-construction bridges.
The petition additionally references the collapse of varied river bridges, naming particular places like Araria, Siwan, Madhubani, and Kishanganj, as an example the widespread nature of the problem in Bihar.
“The petitioner has additionally sought to concern course to respondents, particularly the State of Bihar for making an environment friendly everlasting physique via laws or govt order, comprising excessive stage knowledgeable from the involved area for steady monitoring of all the prevailing and beneath development bridges within the State of Bihar and in addition for sustaining a complete database on the well being of all current bridges within the state.”
Current spate of bridge collapses in Bihar
The latest spate of bridge collapses in Bihar, with over 10 incidents inside a month, has raised main considerations in regards to the integrity and security of the state’s infrastructure. This alarming development has made headlines and prompted severe questions on structural reliability.
The incidents of bridge collapses have been reported in a number of districts of Bihar, together with, Siwan, Saran, East Champaran, Madhubani, Araria, Muzaffarpur, and Kishanganj, over the previous 4 weeks. Many consider that heavy rainfall might need contributed to those structural failures.
In response to this, Bihar CM Nitish Kumar has mandated an investigation by the related division, instructing authorities to take decisive motion towards these discovered answerable for these failures.
The court docket discover follows a plea from advocate Brajesh Singh, calling for the best stage of structural audits for the state’s bridges. This petition goals to sort out the problem of frequent bridge collapses in Bihar, urging both the demolition or retrofitting of weak buildings.Filed by Singh, the petition highlights the pressing want for these measures to forestall additional lack of life and property.
Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud led a bench that instructed the Bihar authorities and different involved respondents to answer to the petition.
The petition outlines that inside the final two years, three main under-construction bridges have collapsed in Bihar, leading to accidents and fatalities. The incidents additionally embody the collapse of varied different massive, medium, and small bridges, underscoring what Singh describes as gross negligence and corruption by the federal government and contractors.
“It’s a matter of grave concern that in a state like Bihar, which is probably the most flood-prone state of India, the whole flood-affected space within the state is 68,800 sq. km., which is 73.06 per cent of the whole geographical space of the state and therefore such routine accrual of the incident of falling bridges in Bihar is extra disastrous because the lives of individuals at massive are at stake and due to this fact the pressing intervention of this Hon’ble Courtroom is required to save lots of the lives of individuals at massive who’re within the current dwelling within the uncertainty, because the under-construction bridges earlier than its accomplishment bought collapsed routinely,” mentioned the petitioner.
Singh urges the court docket to compel Bihar to develop a concrete coverage or mechanism just like one outlined by the ministry of street transport and highways for real-time well being monitoring of bridges.
The petitioner additionally seeks “applicable course, particularly the State of Bihar, for making correct coverage or mechanism for real-time monitoring of the bridges constructed, outdated and beneath development with regard to the bridges falling solely beneath the area of the respondent, state of Bihar on the identical analogy as developed by the Ministry of Highway Transport and Highways, Authorities of India, vide dated March 4 2024 for preservation of Nationwide Highways and Centrally Sponsored Schemes and it was issued as a compulsory guideline vide, subjected, ‘identification and implementation of real-time well being monitoring of bridges utilizing sensors’ to the states together with the respondent.”
Additional, Singh calls for the creation of a everlasting oversight physique comprising area consultants for the continual monitoring of all bridges inside the state. This physique would preserve a complete database to maintain monitor of the well being of all current and under-construction bridges.
The petition additionally references the collapse of varied river bridges, naming particular places like Araria, Siwan, Madhubani, and Kishanganj, as an example the widespread nature of the problem in Bihar.
“The petitioner has additionally sought to concern course to respondents, particularly the State of Bihar for making an environment friendly everlasting physique via laws or govt order, comprising excessive stage knowledgeable from the involved area for steady monitoring of all the prevailing and beneath development bridges within the State of Bihar and in addition for sustaining a complete database on the well being of all current bridges within the state.”
Current spate of bridge collapses in Bihar
The latest spate of bridge collapses in Bihar, with over 10 incidents inside a month, has raised main considerations in regards to the integrity and security of the state’s infrastructure. This alarming development has made headlines and prompted severe questions on structural reliability.
The incidents of bridge collapses have been reported in a number of districts of Bihar, together with, Siwan, Saran, East Champaran, Madhubani, Araria, Muzaffarpur, and Kishanganj, over the previous 4 weeks. Many consider that heavy rainfall might need contributed to those structural failures.
In response to this, Bihar CM Nitish Kumar has mandated an investigation by the related division, instructing authorities to take decisive motion towards these discovered answerable for these failures.
