In high court, Goa government seeks time on potholes

PANAJI: Advocate general Devidas Pangam on Monday told the high court of Bombay at Goa that the state government would submit an affidavit on Wednesday regarding an action plan to repair potholed roads. Pangam said the affidavit would mention the work already undertaken as well as that yet to be done.
On September 30, the high court had directed the state to submit the affidavit indicating a timeline on filling up potholes.On Monday, when the matter came up, the government sought time.
Counsel for the petitioner Jamshed Mistry, who was amicus curiae in a similiar PIL in Maharashtra, submitted both the interim order and the Bombay high court judgment. Mistry told the Goa bench that the court could benefit from the research and solutions in the order.
Among its directions, the HC, in 2018, had directed the government to ensure filling of potholes is carried out scientifically and conditions be incorporated by all municipal corporations while granting permission to do digging work displaying site name, address, contact details of agency, extent of digging work permitted, and period within which work shall be completed.
The order had directed all municipal corporations to set up grievance redress mechanisms to enable citizens to file complaints about poor conditions of streets. The court had also directed that the work of grievance redressal mechanism be monitored by making officers responsible to ensure that complaints received are promptly attended to and communication issued to complainants.
The petitioner in the Goa case, Pradeep Padgaonkar, is seeking a court-monitored investigation into the complete washout of the roads, grant of an external commissioner to ascertain extent of damage, and fix responsibility and punishment under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.