Supreme Court grants 'last opportunity' to Bihar govt to reply to PIL on bridge collapse incidents

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday granted the last opportunity to the Bihar government to file its response to a PIL that raised concerns about the safety and longevity of bridges in Bihar after several of them collapsed in recent months.

A bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar also sought the response of the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) on the PIL filed by lawyer Brajesh Singh.

It considered the fact that the notices were issued to various authorities on the PIL on July 29 this year.

“The Bihar government is granted six weeks to file the response. This is the last opportunity,” the bench said, adding that the petitioner will have to file his rejoinder four weeks after the authorities file their replies.

The bench has now listed the plea for hearing on February 15, 2025.

Earlier, the petitioner moved the court seeking its nod to bring on record various news reports and additional documents to highlight the dilapidated condition of bridges in Bihar.

The court, on July 29 this year, sought responses from the Bihar government and others, including the National Highway Authorities of India (NHAI), on the PIL.

On November 4, it agreed to hear the PIL that raised concerns about the safety and longevity of bridges in Bihar after several of them collapsed in recent months.

Singh on November 14 filed an interim application in his pending PILs seeking to bring on record as many as 15 news reports relating to poor conditions of bridges in the state.

“I have filed an IA (interim application) for placing additional documents before the concerned bench as in the state of Bihar the bridges and culverts are still in dilapidated conditions and they are collapsing on a routine basis,” Singh said.

He referred to a recent incident in Bihar's Nalanda district where an 18-year-old boy died after falling into the river from a dilapidated bridge.

The lawyer said the state government and the NHAI have not filed their responses despite the top court issuing the notices in July.

He claimed that on November 3 an under-construction bridge collapsed in Darbhanga district and the company concerned was seen removing the debris in the night secretly.

The PIL sought directions for a structural audit and setting up of an expert panel to identify bridges that can be either strengthened or demolished based on its findings.

Besides the state and the NHAI, the top court had also issued notices to the road construction department's additional chief secretary, Bihar Rajya Pul Nirman Nigam Limited chairperson and rural works department's additional chief secretary.

Ten incidents of bridge collapse have been reported in Bihar's Siwan, Saran, Madhubani, Araria, East Champaran and Kishanganj districts during May, June and July this year. Many claimed that heavy rainfall might have led to the incidents.

The PIL raised concerns about the safety and longevity of the bridges in the state that usually witnesses heavy rains and floods during the Monsoon.

Besides setting up a high-level expert panel, it also sought real-time monitoring of the bridges as per the parameters laid by the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.

The petitioner highlighted that Bihar is the most flood-prone state in India. The total flood-affected area in the state is 68,800 square km which is 73.06 per cent of its total geographical area, he mentioned.

"Hence, such routine accrual of the incident of falling bridges in Bihar is more disastrous as the lives of people at large are at stake. Therefore, the urgent intervention of this court is required to save the lives of people, as the under-construction bridges before its (their) accomplishment collapsed routinely," the plea read.

In view of the bridge collapse incidents, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has directed the road construction and rural works departments to conduct a survey of all old bridges in the state and identify those in need of immediate repair.