The Gujarat High Court has noted that the slew of tragic incidents such as the 2022 Morbi suspension bridge collapse, Rajkot game zone fire and Vadodara boat tragedy this year show public places of amusement with high tourist footfall have been kept unsafe because of the dereliction of duties by the respective municipal commissioners.

A division bench of Chief Justice Sunita Agarwal and Justice Pranav Trivedi, in an order, directed the state government to conduct an inquiry into the working of municipal corporations in view of the recent incidents which reflect "dereliction of duties on the part of the (respective) municipal commissioners." The HC order came while hearing a suo motu (on its own) public interest litigation (PIL) over the Rajkot TRP game zone fire that resulted in the deaths of 27 individuals in May-end. The order dated June 13 was made available on the HC website on Sunday (June 16).

Repeated incidents such as the Morbi bridge crash, Harni lake boat tragedy in Vadodara and the Rajkot game zone fire "show that public places managed by the corporations and the places of amusement where footfall of public is to a large extent have been kept unsafe for human lives because of dereliction in discharge of duties or inaction of the head of the institution," noted the HC.

A British-era suspension bridge on the Machchhu river in Morbi town collapsed on October 30, 2022, killing 135 people and injuring 56 others. Twelve students and two teachers drowned after a boat capsized in Harni lake on the outskirts of Vadodara city on January 18, 2024.

While the final report of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) formed by the state government to investigate the Rajkot game zone fire is awaited, "no fact finding-inquiry to fix the liability or responsibilities of erring officers for their inaction under the statutory enactments has been instituted so far," the court observed.

The government ordered the transfer of the then-Rajkot municipal commissioner, but "there is complete silence for any fact-finding inquiry by the state government to find out the specific role of the responsible senior officers of the corporation, who were posted from time to time and fixing their responsibilities, when they were at the helm of the affairs," it further noted.

The bench directed the Principal Secretary, Urban Development and Urban Housing Department, to constitute a high-level committee to find out fault of erring officers of the Rajkot Municipal Corporation (RMC), including the municipal commissioners posted from the time when the first pillar of the TRP game zone was installed till May 25 when the fire incident occurred.

The Principal Secretary shall not spare anyone found guilty or being irresponsible and all aspects of dereliction of duties or inaction on the part of RMC officers shall be brought into light, the HC directed.

The court said as per an affidavit filed by the RMC, the game zone did not have building use (BU) permission for a structure constructed of steel frame and steel 'patras' (sheets) and it continued to be occupied and used from June/July 2021 till the May 25 fire incident.

The game zone began operation merely on the basis of permission granted by the city police under Section 33(x) of the Gujarat Police Act, 1951, which provides for regulating the sale of ticket or pass for admission to a place of public amusement, it noted.

RMC officials did not initiate action even after the TRP game zone management applied for regularisation of the structure on April 22, 2024, the bench maintained.

A fire had broken out at the game zone prior to the May 25 inferno, but fortunately there was no loss of life in that incident, the court pointed out.

It is evident from these facts that civic commissioners who have been holding charge of RMC since the game zone was built and used "have failed to discharge their duties and responsibilities to ensure no unauthorised structure is occupied or permitted to be used by any person without a proper BU permission following structural and fire safety norms," it said.

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