BRTS still not removed after 11 months:Court tells contractor profit and loss irrelevant ordered to remove railing or face fine penalty

The Madhya Pradesh High Court on Monday heard a pending public interest litigation related to the failure to completely remove BRTS railings even after 11 months. During the last hearing, the court had asked the contractor to appear in person. Contractor Dinesh Yadav told the court that he was not making any profit and was spending money from his own pocket to complete the work. He said that less iron was being recovered than expected, which was why he was unable to finish the work. The High Court strongly criticised him for this explanation. The court orally asked whether he had checked the profit and loss before taking the contract and said unnecessary excuses would not be accepted. The High Court warned that only blacklisting the contractor for not completing the work would not be enough and that a heavy fine could also be imposed. The case is being heard by a division bench of Justice Vijay Kumar Shukla and Justice Alok Awasthi. The public interest litigation was filed by Rajlakshmi Foundation. During the hearing, Collector Shivam Verma and Municipal Commissioner Kshitij Singhal were also present. The court questioned them about the status of the railings and the issue of encroachment. Merely blacklisting will not work High court says that why isn’t the railing finally removed and a median built in the middle? Municipal Corporation: An elevated corridor will be built from LIG to Naulakha, PWD is doing this work. Petitioner: They are talking about something new again, there will be trouble for two and a half to three years in the name of the bridge, traffic should start by building a divider. High Court also mention that this is a matter of public interest. We will not listen to any excuses in this matter, action will be taken against the contractor. If the work is not done, we will seize the bank guarantee and it will also be blacklisted. Just blacklisting will not work, a heavy fine should also be imposed. Municipal Commissioner claims that we have given a warning, full information was already given to the contractor. Court did not hear the contractor’s argument The contractor told the court that the Municipal Corporation is not supporting. Debris is lying after the bus station was removed. It is not being kept in the depot. The estimate was three and a half crore rupees, but even two and a half crore rupees are not being recovered. I am getting the work done by spending money from my own pocket. Therefore, the work has been stopped. The High Court clearly stated, “Look, public interest is paramount for us. Your interest will not prevail.” The Court instructed the officials that the work would be completed through coordination. The High Court will now hear this matter on January 28.