Morbi bridge accident: Gujarat High Court reprimands Morbi municipality, seeks status report by evening

The Gujarat High Court today warned the Morbi municipality for delay in filing the status report despite two notices in the Morbi bridge collapse that killed over 140 people on October 30. The court said, "Yesterday you were acting smartly, now you are taking the matter lightly. Therefore, either file your reply by today evening, or pay a fine of Rs 1 lakh."

The lawyer of Morbi municipality said that the in-charge of the municipality and the deputy collector are on election duty. The notice should have been sent to the deputy collector, but it was given to the civic body on 9 November. Due to this there was delay in appearing before the court. Now if the officers follow the orders of the court, then it is expected that the status report on the Morbi bridge accident will be filed by evening. This status report will reveal how the bridge collapsed.

The court itself had taken note of the incident and sought answers from at least six departments. Chief Justice Arvind Kumar and Justice Ashutosh J Shastri are hearing the matter. On Tuesday, the court sought a direct answer on the manner in which the contract for the maintenance of the 150-year-old bridge was awarded. The Gujarat High Court has criticized the way the contract for the repair of the bridge was awarded.

During the hearing, Chief Justice Arvind Kumar asked the top bureaucrat and chief secretary of the state that why the tender for the repair work of the public bridge was not taken out? Why were the bids not invited?" The court further said, "How come an agreement for such an important work was completed in just one and a half pages?" Was the generosity of the state given to the Ajanta Company without any tender?"