Telangana High Court asks State for report on pothole repairs

The court expressed dissatisfaction towards the Additional Advocate General (AAG) and said the State had not complied with the apex court's guidelines which were required to be followed by every State.

Hyderabad: A two judge bench of Telangana High Court comprising Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice Anil Kumar Jukanti on Thursday directed the State to file a status report on action initiated to repair potholes in Hyderabad by July 18.

The court expressed dissatisfaction towards the Additional Advocate General (AAG) and said the State had not complied with the apex court‘s guidelines which were required to be followed by every State. The bench also pointed out that the State was delaying filing of a counter.

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The division bench was dealing with a public interest litigation filed by K. Akhil Sri Guru Teja, an employee, aggrieved by non-implementation of guidelines framed by the Supreme Court on road safety in March 29, 2022.

The petitioners raised concerns that the State was ignoring such serious issues by not initiating steps to maintain the roads and footpaths, free of potholes and obstructions. The State had also failed to safeguard the manholes and maintain drainage in urban areas.

Prabhakar Chikkudu, counsel for the petitioner, informed the court that the gross negligence of the State was leading to deaths of innocent people every hour. The road safety committee should sit every month to ensure safety, but despite it being the monsoon season, the committee was inactive for the last six months, the counsel said. It was also highlighted by the counsel, that on July 5, three people lost their life due to terrible roads in Mahabubabad district.

In response to the said contentions, Imran Khan, the AAG, informed the court that the State has initiated steps for clearing up nalas, looking at the drainage system and filling up potholes as monsoon season had already begun. The counsel submitted that report for the said action would be filed before the court and sought four weeks.

The court after hearing the said contentions questioned the AAG, asking that if action was already initiated, why were four weeks needed. “At least file the action taken report for covering potholes with regard to Hyderabad city,” the bench said and posted the matter to July 18. Meanwhile, the court also instructed the State to file an action taken report about the other districts of Telangana.