On Friday, Gujarat’s finance minister Kanubhai Desai announced 550 crore for the reconstruction and reinforcement of ageing bridges, as part of a 3.01 lakh crore budget.
As a result of the collapse of the century-old Morbi suspension bridge, in which an estimated 135 people perished in October of last year, the BJP-led government in Gujarat has been subjected to a tremendous backlash, making the focus on renovating old bridges significant. The bridge failed only five days after being reopened following renovations. Oreva, a private manufacturer of wall clocks and e-bikes, completed the improvements, and the bridge was opened to the public without a fitness certificate from the local municipality.
According to the ‘Preliminary Report on Morbi Bridge Incident’ submitted by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) constituted by the government of Gujarat, there were several failures in repairs, maintenance, and operation of the bridge, with over half of the wires on one cable being corroded. Recently, the state department of urban development shared the study with the Morbi municipality.
Wednesday, the Gujarat High Court ordered Oreva Group to pay 10 lakh in interim compensation to the next of kin of each deceased individual and 2 lakh to each injured individual within four weeks.
The first budget following the state Assembly elections, in which the BJP held power with a resounding majority, and Desai’s third consecutive budget are expected to prioritise farmers and stimulate economic activity in agriculture, industry, and the services sector.
Desai has allocated 1,500 crore to establish five highways as high-speed corridors and 150 crore for the Sabarmati riverfront near GIFT City in Gandhinagar as part of the infrastructure development budget.
Thursday marked the beginning of the Assembly’s budget session, which will last through March 29.
