Jharkhand High Court (HC) has ordered the state road construction department (RCD) principal secretary to physically inspect and ensure the completion of the approach roads of a 120-metre bridge on river Sanjay on the Seraikela-Kharsawan main road, incomplete and pending for the past 13 years, a lawyer close to the development said on Tuesday.Bridge ready since 2013 but approach road incomplete still; HC sets Aug 18 deadline“The division bench of the HC chief justice MS Sonak and justice Rajesh Shankar has ordered the RCD principal secretary to visit the site personally on the Seraikela-Kharsawan main road and ensure that the pending approach roads are completed within the next two months, by August 18 that is,” Om Prakash, Adityapur-based petitioner-cum-lawyer, told HT on Tuesday.Om Prakash, founder president of social organisation Jharkhand Legal Advisory and Development Organisation (JLADO), said he had moved a public interest petition in 2024 as the approach roads to the bridge were incomplete even after 13 years of the bridge constructed in 2013.“I had prayed to the HC for a direction to the state government for completing the pending approach roads at the earliest. The court had on October 7, 2025, ordered RCD Seraikela-Kharsawan road division executive engineer Ashok Kumar Rajak to complete the approach roads by December 15, 2025 and file a compliance report by December 19, 2025. But the RCD filed an interlocutory application (IA) on December 6, 2025 seeking time till February 28, 2026 for completing the project instead of completing it within the deadline by the HC,” Om Prakash said, adding the case would be heard again on September 3, 2026.“This is a serious matter, but the State, despite orders made by the Coordinate Bench, is bent upon not taking this matter seriously. The bridge has been constructed through public funds for the benefit of the people. Without any approach roads, obviously, the bridge cannot be accessed or used. The huge investment in its construction is lying waste and possibly deteriorating. The State and it’s agencies are trustees for the public finances. The State’s officials and engineers cannot squander such funds due to administrative lethargy,” the HC has said in its scathing remark in the order, copy of which is with HT.“”A period of almost four months has passed since this prayed extension date of February 28, 2026 and the period of almost 6-7 months has passed since the previous deadline of December 15, 2025. To date, the approach roads has not been completed, rendering the bridge unusable. It is clear that none of the state government officials is taking the matter seriously,” the HC has observed.“Accordingly, we now direct the RCD principal secretary to personally visit the site and ensure that the construction of the approach roads is completed within two months from today, without any excuses whatsoever. The work must be completed on or before August 18, 2026. The principal secretary must also order an enquiry into the serious lapse whereby the constitution of the bridge was completed in 2013 while the approach roads to the bridge remains incomplete. The principal secretary must identify all persons responsible for this serious lapse, the consequent loss to the government, and the tremendous inconvenience to members of the public. The principal secretary will be personally responsible for complying with the court order and must file a compliance report himself by August 28, 2026, indicating the action that shall be taken against the persons responsible for and involved in this serious lapse,” the HC order stated.