Till we charge road officials and agencies with culpable homicide for deaths caused by potholes, the SC can do little
Road safety, unfortunately in this country, continues to be a subject of bland seminars and extra-curricular school campaigns but is never a matter of policy. Immune as we are to lives lost cheap, it takes certain cold facts to shake us out of our stupor. And as the only arbiter of the nation’s consciousness these days, the Supreme Court has said that potholes have killed more Indians in the past five years than terrorist attacks. According to the latest data, 14,926 people were killed in road accidents caused by potholes between 2013 and 2017. In comparison, 803 died in terrorist attacks, including those by Naxalites and Maoist rebels in eastern India. So alarmed was the apex court that it even raised the ethical cost of poor roads, saying unlike victims of other tragedies or disasters, no compensation was paid to relatives of the dead due to lack of concern shown by the authorities, be it municipal corporations, state governments, the National Highways Authority of India or private contractors. Potholes have become such a norm on Indian roads that photos of them go viral only as a matter of joke, not for the grave civic crisis they pose. Unfortunately, most of the accident victims happen to be two-wheeler owners, who skid and lose control unwittingly. Some drivers swerve violently to avoid them but end up causing other accidents. When they can’t see them at night, they simply turtle over the trough, causing a chain of mangled vehicles. During monsoon, the potholes become little water bodies, and on flooded roads, pose a severe threat to passersby. The most haunting story of a pothole death was reported from Hyderabad last year. A 12-year-old boy, Ravi Teja, saw a couple and their child die after they were thrown off their scooter the moment it plunged into a crater. So shaken was he by that horrendous incident that he immediately began a drive of collecting bricks and stones to fill all potholes near his home and prevent similar deaths. His story became viral alright but there was no proactive step taken.
This is not the first time that the Supreme Court has made a scathing attack on the lack of political will, the corruption and inefficiency of the bureaucracy and the short-changing tactics of project contractors in building safe roads. Time and again, it has voiced its concern but the Government has not risen to the occasion. On July 20, the court had even set up a committee on road safety while also suggesting that the victims be paid a compensation of Rs 5 lakh. Had the Government respected the views of the court, it would have in the very least imposed a strict penalty on errant contractors whose roads have a built-in obsolescence and crumble like a cookie once the period of inspection is over. There must be a mandatory audit of roads on safety parameters. The textbooks say the lifespan of a properly laid road should be 15 years. But in India that figure can come down to months due to inferior work quality, poor construction material and lack of turfing and maintenance. Without clearing a strict audit norm, the errant contractor should be disqualified from infrastructure projects. Some experts have also suggested the extreme step of charging road officials and agencies with culpable homicide for deaths caused by potholes. Indeed, it is a gross travesty that even after 70 years of independence and being a key emerging economy, we are still struggling to resolve basic issues like water, electricity, clean fuel, toilets and better roads, all of which guarantee the dignity of human life. Till we value this vital asset, we will continue to rank low globally.
