Mumbai’s ₹17,700 Crore Road Project Far from Complete As May 31 Deadline Looms

Mumbai: As much as 83.36% of the cement concreting work of Mumbai’s roads remains to be completed, with heavy rainfall reminding the BMC of its May 31 deadline.

The Rs 17,700 crore mega project has made a mess of the metropolis, with contractors violating every single rule. There are widespread complaints of shoddy work. In some cases, perfectly good roads and pavements are being done, much to the anger of local citizens. In Bandra, citizens came together to stop the digging of a good road.

Former Corporators Allege Massive Corruption In The Project

Former corporators like Asif Zakaria and Sheetal Mhatre have alleged massive corruption in the project. The BMC has undertaken cement concretisation of a total of 2,121 roads, including phases 1 and 2, stretching to a total length of 700km. As per the data accessed by the FPJ, as of May 5, the concretisation of 353 roads is completed, and work is in progress on 1,768 roads. Although the BMC reiterates that it will try to complete as much work as possible by May 31, citizens are sceptical of the quality of work.

In a recent inspection carried out by additional municipal commissioner (AMC, Projects) Abhijit Bangar, substandard dry concrete mix was found at a road work site, after which a fine of Rs 75,000 was imposed on the contractor, and a BMC sub-engineer was suspended too. When asked if BMC will be able to meet its deadline, Bangar said, “Our effort is to complete all ongoing works till May 31. In exceptional cases where road work is not getting completed, we will ensure junction-to-junction completion of the road.”

“It is alarming that only 16% of the road concretisation work has been completed, even as we approach the second week of May. In the K East Ward, 19 projects are being handled under the supervision of a single junior engineer from the maintenance department. This clearly points to inadequate staffing for effective monitoring of the work. Moreover, it reflects a serious lapse in oversight by senior BMC officials,” said Godfrey Pimenta, trustee of Watchdog Foundation.

“Completing a road also includes pavements and roadside drains. We have to think of pedestrians and not only for the motorists to make the roads motorable before monsoon,” activist Debi Goenka said.

“Every second road in the city is dug up. We can’t recognise our own city. It is visible that all work won’t be completed by May 31,” activist Anil Galgali, a resident of Kurla, said.

“What was the hurry to start work on over 2,000 roads at a time? Instead of two phases, concretisation could have been undertaken in four phases. Now, with less than a month left to make all roads motorable, the quality cannot be ensured,” Galgali said.

'There Will Be No Compromise In The Quality Of Work,' Says AMC Abhijit Bangar

However, AMC Bangar said that there will be no compromise in the quality of work. “Apart from a quality monitoring agency and BMC engineers who regularly inspect the site, we have a third party appointed, IIT Bombay, to ensure the quality of the concretisation work carried out. Additionally, senior officials also carry out surprise inspections. Any substandard work is not tolerated.”

Bangar also said that Mumbaikars are already suffering from extensive road works, and if any road is left half-done, it will create more problems during the monsoon. “We have told contractors not to commence any new road work,” Bangar said, adding that remaining work will be carried out post-monsoon. However, another senior BMC officer said that out of the remaining 83% of the road works, 50% will be completed before the monsoon. “For the incomplete road concretisation, work will be stopped from May 31 at the then existing length. The remaining work will be carried forward in the next season. To make the roads motorable, patch works will be undertaken,” he said.

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