The Supreme Court on Wednesday said that the explanation provided by the Bihar government for frequent bridge collapses in the state was merely a long litany of “schemes, policies, etc” without any reasons for the accidents that were putting lives at risk, The Hindu reported.

A bench of Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar made the remarks while hearing a public interest litigation petition filed by advocate Brajesh Singh seeking directions to the Bihar government for a comprehensive structural audit of all existing and under-construction bridges in the state.

The petition cited over 10 separate incidents of bridges collapsing in Bihar since 2022, according to The Hindu.

However, Scroll has recorded from media reports at least 16 incidents of bridges collapsing in the state, including in Siwan, Saran, Madhubani, Araria, East Champaran, and Kishanganj districts, since June 2024.

The Supreme Court issued notice to the Bihar government on Singh’s petition on July 29, 2024.

The state government filed its counter affidavit in the matter after a warning from the Supreme Court on November 18, PTI reported.

At the hearing on Wednesday, the counsel for the petitioner claimed that no third-party inspection of bridges had taken place to date despite several instances of bridges collapsing, according to Live Law.

Kumar said that after three bridges that were under construction collapsed, the concerned officials were suspended for a while and then brought back. “Everyone is hand in glove,” Live Law quoted the judge as saying.

The counsel for the state government submitted that departmental proceedings had been initiated to look into the incidents. It also noted that over 10,000 bridges had been constructed in the state, The Hindu reported.

In response, the counsel for the petitioner claimed that the “state was only intent on constructing bridges without any mechanism to examine them”.

The bench said that it had gone through the counter-affidavit submitted by the state government. “In the counter, they have given details of what they are doing, the inspections etc.,” it added.

The Supreme Court transferred the case to the Patna High Court and fixed March 14 as the next date of hearing.

In his petition, Singh had urged the Supreme Court to issue directions to the state government for the framing of a policy or mechanism for the real-time monitoring of bridges like the one developed by the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways for the preservation of national highways and centrally sponsored schemes, The Hindu reported.

The petition also sought the constitution of an expert committee to identify any weak bridges that might need to be demolished or strengthened, Live Law reported.

Singh cautioned that the issue was serious given that Bihar is a flood-prone state, according to The Hindu.

“The total flood-affected area in the state is 68,800 square km, which is 73.06% of its total geographical area,” The Hindu quoted from Singh’s petition. “Hence, such routine accrual of the incident of falling bridges in Bihar is more disastrous as the lives of people at large are at stake.”