New Delhi: In an affidavit to the Gujarat High Court, Morbi municipality has claimed full responsibility for the collapse of the bridge. Morbi municipality admitted that the bridge should not have been opened.
The Gujarat High Court has directed the municipality head to appear before it on November 24, the next date of hearing.
“Call the head of Morbi municipality, want to hear directly from them. Chief officer of Morbi Municipality Sandeep Singh Jhala has been served a notice to appear before the court on November 24.”
The Gujarat High Court had yesterday warned the Morbi municipality over the delay in filing a status report despite two notices in connection with the death of over 140 people in a bridge collapse in Morbi on October 30.
The court observed, “Yesterday you were acting smartly, now you are taking the matter for granted. So, either file your reply by this evening, or pay a fine of Rs 1 lakh.”
The court itself had taken note of the accident and sought responses from at least six departments. A bench of Chief Justice Arvind Kumar and Justice Ashutosh J Shastri is hearing the matter.
On Tuesday, the court had sought a direct reply on the manner in which the contract was awarded for the maintenance of the 150-year-old bridge. The Gujarat High Court had also criticised the manner in which the bridge was awarded the repair contract.