KOCHI: The High Court has ordered that the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) should conduct an inquiry against the contractor and the engineer if a road in the state gets damaged within six months of completion. Justice Devan Ramachandran also said that if the road gets damaged within a year of completion of the work, an internal inquiry should be conducted and action must be taken against the engineers and officers who are at fault. Vigilance should conduct an investigation if the roads are damaged within six months of issuing the completion certificate.

The court gave the orders while hearing the petitions filed by Ajith Kumar, owner of Suburban Travels in Ernakulam, citing the poor state of roads in the state. People can inform lawyers appointed by the court as amicus curiae about the dilapidated roads in the state. The government and local bodies should publish the court order to inform the people about this. The single bench that heard the arguments yesterday afternoon made a sharp criticism pointing out the deplorable condition of the roads.

"Better roads are the right of the people. How much fuel is burned driving on bumpy roads? The government thinking about new things is forgetting the old things," Justice Devan Ramachandran said. He even went on to ask whether the government need to name the roads as 'K-Road' for filling the potholes on the roads.