New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled Morbi civic body on Wednesday passed two separate resolutions on the contract given to the Oreva Group to renovate a bridge in the Gujarat city which collapsed in October, causing the death of 141 persons, reports PTI.
One resolution was moved by office-bearers of the civic body and another by the councillors. Both the groups claimed they were not aware of the agreement under which the renovation contract was awarded to Oreva Group.
The resolutions were passed at a meeting to discuss the civic body’s reply to a show cause notice sent by the state government. The Gujarat government had asked the civic body to explain why it should not be dissolved for failing to discharge its duties.
The Oreva Group had been given the contract to repair the Morbi bridge in March 2022, by the local municipality. The state government has since suspended Sandipsinh Zala, then chief officer of the Morbi municipality who signed the MoU with Oreva.
The bridge over the Machchu river, which had originally been built under colonial rule, collapsed just four days after it was reopened post renovations. The civic body has now claimed that the Oreva Group reopened the bridge without its permission.
Meanwhile, the Gujarat high court, which is hearing a suo moto petition on the bridge collapse and loss of lives, has asked the Morbi civic body how the Oreva group was given the contract without a tender being floated first.
In late January, the police filed its chargesheet in the bridge collapse case, naming managing director of Oreva Group Jaysukh Patel and nine others as accused. The government-appointed SIT had found several problems with the repair work. The municipality too has been questioned on the matter, as movement on the bridge was not regulated and several design faults were found in the bridge post renovation works.