Overview
- The Bombay High Court sharply rebuked the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation on Monday for two decades of recurring pothole and manhole hazards and told the civic body to 'wake up' and act decisively.
- The court demanded a categorical assurance that no person will die from open manholes this monsoon and ordered the BMC to file an affidavit on its complaint app plus photographic proof showing complaints were attended.
- The BMC told the bench it has fitted protective grills under about 70,000 manholes but roughly 3,000 remain to be secured, and it said a widely shared video showed a fall into a pumping station rather than an open manhole.
- The court reprimanded the Thane Municipal Corporation for delaying a Rs 6 lakh compensation ordered for a doctor who died after falling into a manhole and directed that the payment be made before the next hearing.
- This hearing continues a legal effort dating to 2006 and a 2019 contempt petition that alleges systemic non‑implementation, and the court’s new documentary orders and tight deadlines aim to make monsoon safety measures verifiable and enforceable.