Contractors fined Rs 1.2 cr for bad roads, BMC tells HC
WITH Mumbai’s motorists baying for their blood, road contractors have had to cough up Rs 1,23,05,008 in penalties, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation has told the Bombay High Court.
To its affidavit submitted to the Bombay High Court on Monday evening, the BMC has annexed a list of errant contractors against whom the civic body has taken action or is proposing to take action. At the ward-level, 24 contractors have been penalised and a total of Rs 28,71,700 collected from them. Besides, the BMC’s Roads and Traffic Department (called the ‘central agency’ in the affidavit) has hauled up 32 contractors in the island city (penalties total Rs 29,93,449), 39 in the western suburbs (penalties total Rs 30,18,240) and 27 in the eastern suburbs (the maximum penalties, totalling Rs 34,21,619). Municipal Commissioner Johny Joseph said the 133 potholes mentioned as remaining in the last affidavit filed by Chief Engineer Mohan Kadam had been filled and repaired. ‘‘There have been fresh showers after that,’’ Joseph said, ‘‘and we are attending to any fresh potholes immediately.’’
A complete overhaul of the city’s 1,900-km road network will require at least five years, the chief engineer’s latest affidavit states, quoting from the December 2004 report of the Standing Technical Advisory Committee (STAC) on how ‘‘obsolete’’ road building systems and a complete absence of maintenance was to blame for the annual pothole litany. All new road contracts are now following the STAC recommendations on road design, drainage, contract size, tendering process, digging by utility providers and defect liability periods.
The affidavit also refutes the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority’s (MMRDA’s) earlier affidavit, filed by MMRDA Superintending Engineer S R Nandgirkar, stating that the BMC had ‘‘carried out works on various stretches which are under defect liability period’’ and these should therefore be maintained by the BMC. The BMC’s response is that all road corridors under Mumbai Urban Infrastructure Project (MUIP) should be the responsibility of the MMRDA, even though many of these—the Andheri-Kurla Road, the Sahar Road, the SV Road, etc—had been worked on by BMC contractors earlier. Meanwhile, the BMC has also appointed a consultant to advise on a Roads Maintenance Management System for roads ‘‘upgraded to maintainable condition’’. The firm, Sheladia & Associates Inc, USA, have been appointed as part of the Mumbai Urban Transport Project with World Bank assistance, at a cost of Rs 2 crore.
Worst Defaulters
* For ward-level contracts, the biggest penalty is imposed by the E-Ward on Mehta Enterprises: Rs 4,25,000.
* For contracts handed out by the BMC’s Roads Department (the ‘central agency’), the stiffest penalty in the island city: R P Shah, Rs 4,93,311.
* In the western suburbs (among central agency contractors), the stiffest penalty: Jain Constructions, Rs 4,12,963. This firm’s registration has been suspended since September 2005.
* In the eastern suburbs (among central agency contractors), maximum penalty: Priti Constructions, Rs 4,43,094. Also, Nirmal Projects is debarred from any road work in BMC area
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