Lucknow, Aug 14 The Allahabad High Court on Friday sought replies from the Centre and the Uttar Pradesh government on a PIL alleging that the Lucknow-Kanpur Expressway developed potholes and suffered damage at 74 locations within 26 days of its opening.
A bench of Justices Rajan Roy and Manjive Shukla directed the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and the state transport department to file point-wise responses to the allegations.
According to the PIL, the expressway, constructed at a cost of around Rs 4,700 crore, developed potholes or suffered damage at 74 locations within 26 days of becoming operational.
The petition alleged large-scale corruption in the construction of the expressway and sought an independent probe into the matter under the supervision of a retired Supreme Court or High Court judge or by an independent agency such as the Central Bureau of Investigation.
The petitioner has also challenged the toll rates being charged on the expressway and sought their reduction, arguing that both the quality of construction and the toll charges require independent examination.
