Prevent BMC contractors from making back-door entry….Sayli Udas Mankikar
Guardian minister of Mumbai island city Jayant Patil on Monday said that the city’s roads cannot become potholefree unless the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) takes serious cognisance of the contractor menace.
Hindustan Times, in two reports on November 3 and 4, had highlighted how the civic body had included three contractors who have been fined in the past, along with two sister concerns of a tainted public works constructor, in a 21-firm short-list for about Rs300 crore worth of minor road contracts.
“The names of these contractors and their spouses, and not just those of their companies, Xshould be marked in a blacklist and circulated statewide. They should be prevented from bidding for any contract,“ Patil said on Monday. This, he added, will prevent such contractors from soliciting work in another company’s name. “There has to be some mechanism of quality control, and delays should be taken seriously,“ he said.
There have also been cases of contractors bidding for works at almost 15-20% below the BMC’s estimate, without being able to explain how they would be able to construct quality road works in such a stringent budget.
Patil added that the model used by the rural development department, where there is a standard guideline on road engineering and design should be replicated in urban areas.