The Bombay High Court has urged the Maharashtra government to consider framing a policy to compensate victims of pothole-related accidents, emphasizing that municipal corporations and civic officials must be held responsible for injuries and deaths caused by poorly maintained roads.

During Thursday’s hearing, a bench comprising Justices Revati Mohite Dere and Sandesh B Patil asked government counsel O.S. Chandurkar if the state was prepared to implement such a policy. “Can the state come up with a policy for pothole injury and death? Making corporations accountable for their actions. Recover from their salaries. It should not be a small penalty. They should feel the pinch,” the bench noted.

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) informed the court that 688 potholes remain to be repaired, while the city has received 27,334 complaints this year. Lawyer Anil Sakhare, representing the BMC, highlighted ongoing efforts: “We have an app, a hotline number, and an X handle for citizens to report potholes. So far, complaints were lodged for 15,526 potholes, and our engineers detected 11,808 potholes across Mumbai and suburbs. In 2024, we found 22,841 potholes, and in 2023, 59,533. The trend shows the number of potholes is reducing.” He added that the remaining potholes would be filled within 48 hours.

The bench also directed the BMC and other civic authorities in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region to ensure that contractors are held accountable for road conditions. “Even if the numbers are coming down, why should there be potholes? Some roads like Marine Drive are excellent. What about the suburbs?” the bench asked.

Sakhare explained that multiple agencies, including MMRDA, PWD, MSRDC, Port Trust, and MHADA, maintain various roads, and efforts to transfer them to the BMC for upkeep have largely not been completed. The court pressed on accountability, asking, “Who gives the contract for construction? We need to intervene where corporations have failed. Show us fines levied or contractors blacklisted.”