The Gujarat government has demanded the Morbi municipality to submit a fresh reply to a show-cause notice as to why it should not be dissolved for failing to discharge its duties before the collapse of a suspension bridge in the Morbi that killed 135 persons last year.
In a letter to the chief, the Urban Development Department asked that the municipality submit a written response, duly approved by its general body, by February 16. The show-cause notice was issued on January 18.
The government did not accept a reply dated February 7 sent by the municipality’s lawyer, and asked for a fresh reply so that it could consider whether the civic body should be given an in-person hearing. The municipality has called an urgent general body meeting on Wednesday regarding the government’s new deadline.
Oreva Group maintained and operated the ill-fated bridge under a contract with the Morbi municipality. In its January 18 show-cause notice, the government asked why the civic body did not take note of the issues raised by Oreva Group between 2018 and 2020 about the bridge’s dilapidated condition and the possibility of a serious accident if it remained open to the public.
The municipality did not take any solid action to take over the bridge from the company in 2017 after the completion of the previous contract despite knowing the situation of the bridge, the notice said. The civic body asked the government to return documents seized by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the bridge collapse to enable it submit a reply.
During the hearing of a public interest litigation (PIL) on December 13, the state government informed the Gujarat High Court that it had decided to dissolve the municipality.
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