ગુજરાતી
English
Even after the Morbi bridge accident, the BJP government repeatedly misled the High Court
Dilip Patel
Ahmedabad, July 11, 2025
After the Morbi suspension bridge collapsed, the state government had announced a new bridge uniform policy regarding the condition of the state’s bridges in the High Court on March 9, 2023. Details of all the bridges were given in the affidavit. In the affidavit, there are a total of 63 bridges in the state that need repair. Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel holds the Roads and Buildings Department. Therefore, Bhupendra Patel is fully responsible for the Gambhira bridge collapse incident.
The people of Gujarat were misled by the BJP’s Bhupendra Patel government. Therefore, 17 people died in the Gambhira accident.
In fact, a central government agency had inspected the bridges of Gujarat in 2019. In which it had told that 210 bridges are not in good condition. The BJP government led by Bhupendra Patel told the court that 1441 bridges in the state are in good condition. There are 35,000 bridges in Gujarat, that is, on an average, one bridge comes every two and a half kilometers.
Last year, Chief Justice Sunita Agarwal had expressed concern over the condition of the bridges. She had strongly urged the Bhupendra Patel government to ensure that this accident does not happen again and citizens do not lose their lives.
The state government had submitted an affidavit in the High Court regarding the condition of bridges in the state. In which it was said that 23 bridges in Gujarat are in poor condition, 63 bridges need repair.
Bridges in cities
461 bridges come under urban development. Of these, 398 bridges are in good condition and do not require repair. 63 bridges in cities are in poor condition. There are a total of 63 bridges under the Urban Development Department which require repair, out of which 16 bridges are in the municipality area and 47 bridges are in the corporation limits. Repair work is going on for 29 bridges and 33 bridges have been repaired.
The Road and Construction Department of the state government is responsible for the maintenance of a total of 1441 bridges.
40 bridges require general repair work.
The state government had announced a new bridge policy in the High Court regarding the condition of the bridges in the state. 15-point guidelines were submitted in the affidavit for the inspection of bridges.
The High Court had sought information about all the bridges in the state. Information was given about small and big bridges. The government came to know how many there are, twenty or hundred.
There is no authority to inspect bridges or large structures or structures within the state. There are no specific guidelines regarding bridges from the Urban Development Department. A new bridge policy was also announced for the Municipal Corporation and Authority. New guidelines were announced. New guidelines were announced for the maintenance of bridges and drains.
It was assured that all the bridges and drains in the state will be inspected twice a year. The bridges will be inspected in May before the monsoon and in October after the monsoon. The responsibility of the officers for inspection and this inspection and review has also been fixed. The Deputy Executive Officer Engineer will have full responsibility for the inspection of all the bridges.
The type of bearings used in the bridge, the durability of the bearings during earthquakes, heavy traffic and their temperature will also be inspected and a report of the inspection of the chemicals used in the bridge at the time of repair was also presented. A separate record register is kept for repairs, but it is not kept.
35 thousand bridges and roads
After the collapse of Morbi Cable Bridge, the Gujarat High Court, after hearing a PIL, had ordered the BJP government to inspect all the bridges.
35 thousand 731 bridges have been built by the Road and Building Department. The same number is of urban and national highways and local self-government bodies.
1518 big bridges
5404 small bridges
106994 culverts or drains
On June 7, 2023, the government surveyed its 35 thousand bridges. Out of these, 12 were very dangerous, on which traffic was stopped. 12 bridges were dangerous, which were repaired and reopened. Rs 155 crore was to be spent on this. Out of hundreds of bridges found dangerous, 121 were repaired. There were 116 weak bridges, which needed to be strengthened. On which money was needed. Rs 300 crore was to be spent on this.
As soon as the monsoon season started, old and dilapidated bridges have been closed. Some bridges were just painted. These bridges have become even more dangerous.
Gujarat has 81,246 kilometers of roads. There are 35 thousand bridges here, that is, on an average there is a bridge every two and a half kilometers. The government spends more on bridges than roads.
Repairs
Bridges get washed away during monsoon, so it is very important to be cautious about this in advance. The Supreme Court had reprimanded the government for not taking this issue seriously.
Rs 4 thousand crore was allocated for the maintenance of roads.
80 percent of the state’s roads and the same number of bridges have become dilapidated during the monsoon. Gujarat was ranked sixth in India in accidents caused by bad and potholed roads and bridges. In 2021, former Road and Building Construction Minister Purnesh Modi received 30 thousand complaints about the poor condition of roads and bridges across Gujarat. After this incident became public, he was removed from the government at the behest of CR Pati.
98 percent of the roads are paved while only 2 per cent are paved
Hundreds of roads are unpaved. 99.42 percent of villages in the state have paved roads. Then why do bridges and roads break down?
5146 km national highways,
17248 km state highways,
20112 km main district roads,
10259 km other district roads,
lane roads
28481 km rural roads
3655 km multi-lane roads,
5295 km double lane
60186 km single lane
The reports of Gujarat government and central government are coming different.
(Google translation from Gujarati)
