Morbi municipality dissolved five months after bridge collapse tragedy
The action comes around five months after the Jhulto Pul suspension bridge in Morbi collapsed, killing 135 people
Morbi municipality’s “failure” to discharge its duties, from taking control of the British-era bridge after its contract with the Oreva Group ended in 2017 to seeking fitness certificate from the private firm after it was renovated, are some of the reasons cited the Gujarat government for superseding the municipality late on Tuesday.
“The state government has superseded the Morbi municipality,” district collector GT Pandya said on Tuesday.
The action comes around five months after the Jhulto Pul suspension bridge in Morbi collapsed, killing 135 people. While hearing a suo motu PIL in November 2022, the Gujarat high court observed that “there was a default” on part of the civic body with respect to the collapse.
The civic body was controlled by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the state.
On January 18 this year, the government served a show-cause notice to the municipality, observing that its general board “failed” to discharge its duties. A special investigation team later set up to probe the collapse pointed out the lapses on the part of municipality.
As per the order issued by the state urban development department on Tuesday, the department pointed out that the Oreva Group wrote several letters to the municipality between 2018 and 2020, warning that the condition of the bridge was dilapidated and a serious accident might happen if it remained open to the public.
The civic body, however, “did not heed these warnings” by the company, the notice alleged.
The bridge was run by Oreva group for a period of nine years between 2008 and 2017, as per an agreement between the company and Rajkot district collector (Morbi was then in Rajkot district before it was carved out as a separate district). “After the expiry of the contract period in 2017, Oreva Group continued its correspondence with Rajkot district collector to renew its contract and the Morbi municipality did not make any efforts to take charge of the bridge,” the department said.
The order said while the municipality’s general body by way of a resolution rejected Oreva group’s proposal for a hike in ticket rates for the footbridge on August 27, 2020. On January 19, 2022, however, asked the firm to continue to run the bridge without a hike in ticket rates.
In March last year, the chief officer of the municipality entered into an agreement with Oreva group to repair and operate the bridge for 15 years. This was done without the general board’s sanction. The bridge was reopened on October 26 by Oreva Group. “But the Morbi municipality failed to perform its duties,” said an official.
The municipality, had in its reply to the January notice, pleaded innocence saying that it never gave approval to hand over the bridge to Oreva Group.
