Gujarat govt supersedes Morbi municipality five months after tragic suspension bridge collapse in town

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Morbi: The Gujarat government superseded the Morbi municipality on Tuesday (April 11), months after a suspension bridge collapsed in the town claiming the lives of 135 people. Notably, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ruled the civic body in the state. "The state government has superseded the Morbi municipality," the town's district collector GT Pandya told PTI. 

Earlier on October 30, 2022, the suspension bridge on the Machchhu river in Morbi town had collapsed. The bridge was maintained and operated by Oreva Group under an agreement signed with the municipality.

According to reports, the municipality had received a show-cause notice from the state Urban Development Department in January, requesting justification as to why it should not be dissolved for failing to perform its duties.

ALSO READ: Morbi bridge collapse an 'enormous tragedy', says Supreme Court; asks Gujarat HC to hold periodical hearings

Morbi municipality overlooked Oreva Group's warning

The Oreva Group, according to the government, had warned the municipality in a number of letters between 2018 and 2020 that the bridge was in poor condition and a severe accident might occur if it was left exposed to the public. The show-cause notice stated that the civic body ignored the company's warnings. 

The municipality also did not take any concrete action to take over the bridge from the company in 2017 after the completion of the contract, it said.

The notice also cited the findings of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to state that Oreva Group committed several lapses in repair, maintenance and operation of the bridge.

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Municipality pleads innocence

In its reply to the notice, the municipality pleaded innocence saying that it had never given the approval to hand over the bridge to Oreva Group.

As many as 41 of its 52 councillors submitted a separate reply asserting that the majority of them were not aware of the agreement under which the bridge was handed over to Oreva Group. All the 52 elected councillors of the Morbi municipality were from the ruling BJP. It should be mentioned here that the Gujarat government had announced a two-day state mourning following the incident. 

(With PTI inputs)