Every monsoon, we see reports of tragic electrocutions resulting from naked, loose wires left carelessly hanging by the roadside by power supply undertakings. Drowning of children in open manholes and trenches, road accidents caused by potholes and fissures on the roads; drowning of people travelling in unsafe boats on overflowing rivers and hepatitis deaths from polluted water supply are also common. And invariably, those in the administration responsible for such avoidable deaths go scot-free in all such cases.

A positive development in recent years is the increasing public anger over such incidents and the attempts by people to hold the civic authorities accountable. Recently for example, a landmark judgement of Bombay High Court held the civic authorities responsible for the death of a citizen from hepatitis caused by the consumption of contaminated water. Directing the Hinganghat Municipal Council to pay Rs 4.40 lakh to the victim’s parents, the high court said civic authorities have to take responsibility for their negligence. It’s an excellent judgement, except for the fact that the court rejected a plea for criminal action against the officers concerned.

In another case, following the death of a 60-year-old woman from falling into an open trench, a public interest litigation filed in Bombay High Court sought criminal action against the contractor and the civic officials. Here again, from what I could make out from the media reports, the contractor was asked to pay a small compensation, but the civic authorities seem to have gone unpunished.

I am reminded of a similar case in Turkey, where two Indian executives working for a joint venture company had been jailed and faced imprisonment for anywhere between four to ten years following the death of two children by drowning in a trench dug for laying oil pipelines by the company.

It is only the fear of imprisonment and the fear of having to pay damages from their pockets that will force the government employees to pay more attention towards safety. For that to happen, our courts need to come down heavily on those responsible for the loss of lives. Along with this, we, as citizens, also need to force the local governments to provide 24-hour toll free hotlines on which citizens can complain of open manholes, uncovered trenches, sparking live wires, and just about anything that can be a safety hazard. Failure on the part of those entrusted with the responsibility of acting promptly on these complaints should invite severe punishment. Only then can we breathe easy.