Mumbai News: Citizens Flag Poor Quality In BMC’s Ongoing Road Concretisation Works Ahead Of May 31 Deadline

Mumbai: With less than 20 days remaining for the BMC to meet its May 31 deadline complete the on-going road concretisation works in Mumbai, questions are been raised over quality of work. Citizens' group Watchdog Foundation has highlighted alarming state of two roads- Nathalal Parekh Marg in South Mumbai and SV Road in Vile Parle, alleging substandard materials used for the concretisation.

The foundation's volunteers found only two labourers at the work site of Nathalal Parekh Marg, alleging the work is progressing at an unacceptably low pace. "The cement pipes and kerb stones used are of substandard quality raising concerns about durability and safety of the infrastructure," it said in its letter to the BMC commissioner.

The citizens group also said that in SV Road in Vile Parle, a side strip of the main road is undergoing concretisation with minimal labour. "The particular strech houses multiple underground utilities and concretisation without proper planning will necessitate repeated digging in the future, leading to wastage of resources and public inconvenience. The quality of materials and workmanship is reminiscent in previous instances like Santacruz's Bhargav Road which developed cracks within months of development," said Godfrey Pimenta, trustee of Watchdog Foundation.

The BMC has undertaken massive project to concretise all roads in Mumbai. The FPJ had reported in its May 8 edition that at present concretisation work of 2121 roads is undertaken, and as of May first week, the BMC had completed only 17% of the total works, with 83% to be completed before it's May 31 deadline. Speaking with this newspaper, Additional municipal commissioner Abhijit Bangar had said that there will be no compromise with quality of work and the corporation's effort is to complete all ongoing works till May 31. In exceptional cases, where the entire concreting of the road is not getting completed, the BMC will ensure junction to junction completion of the road and roads will be made motorable before monsoon hits. The remaining roads works will be carried forward to the next season.

In their letter to the BMC Chief Bhushan Gagrani, the foundation adds, "There is growing perception of nexus between certain contractors and officials leading compromise in the project's integrity. Past incidents have revealed that the contractors, in collusion with civic officials and auditors misappropriated funds amounting to Rs 352 crore, delivering subpar road works. The recurrence of such issues, suggests systematic flaws in the project planning, execution and oversight."

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