The Bombay High Court on Wednesday set up a two-judge committee to monitor repair and maintenance of roads in Maharashtra to ensure that they remain free of potholes. The committee, comprising Justice K R Shriram and Justice G S Kulkarni, was appointed by Bombay High Court Chief Justice Manjula Chellur. The move came during the hearing of a suo motu Public Interest Litigation (PIL) highlighting the problem of potholes in Mumbai. "It [the court] does not intend to run the administration but it is compelled to in cases where local authorities have failed to discharge their duties," Chellur said. The court has passed several orders while hearing the PIL. On the last occasion, it appointed Maharashtra State Legal Aid Services Authority to act as nodal office to receive complaints about potholes. On being told that the Authority has received only 180 complaints, the Bench asked the Authority to continue publicising its formation and to encourage citizens to share their grievances. "I personally do not even commute on these roads that are potholed or in need of repair. But I have to take up the cause for the common man," the Bench said. Each monsoon brings tales of civic apathy and public distress in the city, the Chief Justice observed. She also referred to the death of Dr Deepak Amarapurkar in August after he fell into an open manhole while wading through waterlogged roads. "You (litigants and lawyers) ask for wonderful orders and we pass them too but what is the use if none of our orders are ever implemented," Chief Justice Chellur rued.