Karnataka HC directs NHAI to inspect quality of pothole filling work in Bengaluru roads
Bengaluru, Nov 2: The Karnataka High Court on Wednesday directed the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) to conduct an inspection on the quality of the potholes filling or repair work undertaken by the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) and its contractors, and to submit a detailed report within four weeks.
The direction came from the bench comprising Chief Justice P B Varale and Justice Ashok S Kinagi, hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) regarding the bad condition of roads in Bengaluru.
BBMP, the city's civic body, submitted a report to the HC on Wednesday on the status of the pothole-filling work undertaken.
It was submitted that out of the 25,032 potholes identified, 13,843 were filled up. Many more were under various stages of being repaired and there were 6,689 potholes which will be filled up within four weeks.
The HC noted that even after six years of the PIL along with several orders of the HC over the years, and several reports and affidavits submitted by the BBMP, "the road conditions in Bengaluru city is not very positively changed and the unfortunate sufferers are the citizens of the city."
The court, which also pointed to deaths due to potholes, said, "This court has observed in various orders that the condition of roads and particularly potholes led to unfortunate loss of precious human lives."
It also noted during the hearing that BBMP seemed to be engaged in cosmetic surgery of roads in the city.
To a question about the quality of the repair work undertaken by the contractors to whom the BBMP has entrusted the task, the court was told that civic body officials themselves file a satisfaction certificate after the private contractors undertake the work.
The HC, however, not happy with this process, said: "There is no independent third party assessment of the work undertaken by private contractors assigned by BBMP."
It then directed the chief engineer of NHAI to personally inspect the work or assign a senior engineer to do the survey and submit a report.
The NHAI representative will survey whether the pothole repair work is as per the contract and also whether the work is satisfactory. It will then give an independent opinion of the pothole-filling work and make suggestions. The report will also indicate whether there is dereliction of duty by the BBMP and failure on part of the contractors.
The court said that NHAI's survey will not stop the work already in progress and BBMP can continue with it.
The HC on Monday had specifically directed BBMP to file a report on specific questions it has raised regarding the pothole filling work.
Among the questions raised by the court are: why did the BBMP not renew the contract of the agency which was filling potholes with advanced machinery and why it did not start the process of appointing a new agency even after the original contract ended in January 2022.
The BBMP in its report on Wednesday submitted on the various aspects of the pothole filling measures. Among these, the civic agency said it was introducing a mobile app for citizens through which potholes can be identified through GPS coordinates.
The app, developed by a private agency, was tested by BBMP and traffic police officers in May this year, the court was told.
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Bill to set up single higher education regulator likely to be tabled in Parliament next week
New Delhi (PTI): A Bill which seeks to set up a single regulator for institutions of higher education is required to facilitate universities and other higher educational institutes become independent and self-governing, officials said.
The Bill is likely to be introduced in Parliament next week after it got the Union Cabinet's nod on Friday.
The proposed legislation, which was earlier christened the Higher Education Commission of India (HECI) Bill, has now been named Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhikshan Bill.
A single higher education regulator, which was proposed in the new National Education Policy (NEP), looks to replace the University Grants Commission (UGC), the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), and the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE).
"The Bill proposes to set up a Higher Education Commission of India to facilitate universities and other higher educational institutes become independent and self-governing institutions and to promote excellence through a robust and transparent system of accreditation and autonomy. It is likely to be introduced (in Parliament) in the coming week," an official said.
While the UGC presently oversees non-technical higher education in the country, the AICTE oversees technical education, while the NCTE is the regulatory body for teachers' education.
The Commission is proposed to be set up as a single higher education regulator, but medical and law colleges will not be brought under its ambit.
It is proposed to have three major roles -- regulation, accreditation and setting professional standards, officials said.
Funding, which is seen as the fourth vertical, is not proposed to be under the regulator so far. The autonomy for funding is proposed to be with the administrative ministry, they said.
