Civic body to relax norms for upkeep of roundabouts

The Chandigarh Municipal Corporation is considering to relax norms for companies to be engaged for maintenance of roundabouts in the city. A fresh tender for the project will be issued soon.

Sources in the MC said when the tender for the maintenance of the roundabout was issued four months ago, majority companies failed to meet criteria. Though many companies responded showed interest, only one was found eligible as per the terms and condition of the tender.

At present, the MC is handing over roundabout to the institutions for maintenance. In lieu of the maintenance the companies or institutions are allowed to put up their names on the roundabout. As the MC is not getting any revenue from the present arrangement, it has floated the idea to outsource the roundabout maintenance.

The company will maintain the roundabout and allow private players to put up advertisements and will give revenue to the civic body. The officers of the Engineering Department will check the roundabouts frequently to ensure that they are being maintained as per norms. If the work is not found satisfactory, fine will be imposed and the contract terminated.

The company that will maintain the roundabout will generate income through advertisements. The MC expects to earn an annual income of Rs 3 crore to Rs 4 crore from 30 to 35 roundabouts in the city. As per the proposal, the civic body plans to give the roundabouts to successful bidders initially for a period of two years, extendable for another year as per terms and conditions.

The MC is facing an acute financial crisis and has no money for development works. The proposal to hand over the roundabouts to private players has already been discussed in the monthly General House meeting and got the approval of the members.

Chandigarh