[IamNikhil]

The Mumbai-Goa highway has been undergoing lane widening, repairs and construction since eternity! Crores of taxpayers' money has already been poured into the ambitious project for ensuring seamless and comfortable travel on this significant route. The Mumbai-Goa highway sees massive commercial and LMV traffic on any given day and at any given hour. But due to the narrow width and dangerous turns, with inadequate signage and lighting, this road has proven to be a death trap and has been highly dangerous over the years, resulting in many unfortunate mishaps and loss of lives too. The road widening was taken up many years back, but as with any govt. project, this has been stuck in red-tape and corruption, with lacklustre work in stretches and contractors taking the bureaucracy for a ride. Monsoon has always been a bane for this stretch; especially now, with incomplete work, the number of potholes and muddy patches has resulted in an increase in accidents and moreover a very uncomfortable commute for people who have no option but to use this stretch for travel.

Personally, I stopped traveling via the Mumbai-Goa highway almost a decade back after a narrow miss of falling into a ravine because of an errant lorry driver almost crashing into my car head-on while he was rashly overtaking another truck. That experience scarred me so much that I couldn't drive for quite a while after that. Anyway, that's a story for another day. With our ancestral home being in Goa, we travel there from Mumbai a couple of times a month and have been using the Mumbai-Pune-Kolhapur-Ajara-Uttur-Amboli-Sawantwadi-Banda-Pernem route since 2013 and that has always been a nice and comfortable experience.

Bombay high court on Monday frowned at the state government on its plans to construct the Greenfield Konkan Expressway from Mumbai to Sindhudurg when the four-laning work on Mumbai-Goa (NH66) is incomplete after over a decade. “Without completing this, you are going for another highway to Sindhudurg... Unless you complete this work, we will not allow you to go ahead with any other project. Let the public reap the benefits of this project,’’ said Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and justice Girish Kulkarni while hearing a PIL by advocate Owais Pechkar, that the work that began in 2010 is delayed and potholes are back. Pechkar said while main highway work is pending, they are diverting the issue by announcing construction of the Rs 70,000 crore Expressway. “They don’t even respect court orders,’’ he said, adding that this is a second public interest litigation (PIL). The judges said the state must have a concrete policy for potholes. “We wonder why the state government does not think of a concrete policy to be implemented all over for potholes, given the number of deaths and traffic jams. Why can’t there be continuous maintenance to identify potholes?” asked justice Kulkarni. According to the PIL, the contracts are given on an 84km stretch from Panvel to Indapur over which National Highway Authority of India (Nhai) has jurisdiction and on a 366km stretch from Indapur to Dharap in Sindhudurg which comes under the state Public Works Department. Pechkar said that Nhai’s reply states that the contractor will complete the work on March 31, 2022 after receiving Rs 267 crore from lenders. The judges took note from a chart submitted by advocate general (AG) Ashutosh Kumbhakoni most work has been completed, but for a portion where a contractor lagged and has been terminated. The AG said potholes are on diversion areas, not on the completed portions of the highway. “We want to know what you will do regarding potholes,” said justice Kulkarni. The judges granted the state three weeks for pothole repairs. They said they will grant it time till December to complete the pending work.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/m.times...w/86383550.cms

[PPS]

These are at best oral observations of the judges! Don't think there is an order which specifically states so.

[IamNikhil]

Originally Posted by PPS

These are at best oral observations of the judges! Don't think there is an order which specifically states so.

Any observations from the bench are recorded and are not treated as off-the-cuff unless specifically mentioned by the judges. In this matter, the court has asked the govt for a progress report on the project. Any orders to be passed will follow thereafter.

[Axe77]

On a lighter note, looks like someone has a holiday home in Goa.

But good to see judges taking this up seriously. I hope they can haul them up (with actual results) on the condition of Mumbai city roads and conditions as well.

[Aditya]

Originally Posted by IamNikhil

Personally, I stopped traveling via the Mumbai-Goa highway almost a decade back after a narrow miss of falling into a ravine because of an errant lorry driver almost crashing into my car head-on while he was rashly overtaking another truck. That experience scarred me so much that I couldn't drive for quite a while after that. Anyway, that's a story for another day. With our ancestral home being in Goa, we travel there from Mumbai a couple of times a month and have been using the Mumbai-Pune-Kolhapur-Ajara-Uttur-Amboli-Sawantwadi-Banda-Pernem route since 2013 and that has always been a nice and comfortable experience.

I used to drive a lot from Mumbai to my ancestral home in Pernem using the Konkan road (NH17 as it was called earlier). But since 2007, I have given up using it. The time saved and the overall safety that the Mumbai - Sankeshwar - Amboli route offers far outweighs the joy of driving through the twisties of the coastal road. The road construction / repairs had made driving on the road a nightmare. Hope the courts comments are taken seriously by the government and we get a nice new road to drive on soon.

[IamNikhil]

Originally Posted by Axe77

But good to see judges taking this up seriously. I hope they can haul them up (with actual results) on the condition of Mumbai city roads and conditions as well.

I think there are umpteen petitions subjudice at the moment regarding the shabby conditions of Mumbai roads. The bone of contention is about the involvement of multiple govt agencies in managing the upkeep of roads: PWD, BMC, MSRDC, MMRDA etc. Classic case of "too many cooks spoil the broth!"

Originally Posted by Aditya

I used to drive a lot from Mumbai to my ancestral home in Pernem using the Konkan road (NH17 as it was called earlier). But since 2007, I have given up using it. The time saved and the overall safety that the Mumbai - Sankeshwar - Amboli route offers far outweighs the joy of driving through the twisties of the coastal road. The road construction / repairs had made driving on the road a nightmare. Hope the courts comments are taken seriously by the government and we get a nice new road to drive on soon.

Totally agreed. The safety and peace of mind that the Ajara-Amboli route offers is unparalleled. Yes, there are always some stretches even along this route which are perennially dilapidated, but still bearable! Since last couple of years though, the approach roads at the Goa entry point are HORRID, because of the road-widening work. At some points, I always get worried of the tyres flying off the car!

Off-topic: Good to know that you have an ancestral house in Pernem; I have a lot of family in and around Pernem and across the bridge at Satarda.