Gujarat Hardlook | Bumpy road to progress: Monsoon caused 21,480 potholes, 1500 kms of broken road; 133 bridges closed for repairs

Amid protests by the Opposition, public resentment and allegations of corruption, a crackdown was initiated by the Gujarat government under Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel — a politician known to start his career from the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation. With municipal corporation elections due next year, the government’s move seems aimed at addressing the concerns.

According to the data accessed by The Indian Express, the state government issued notices to at least 100 contractors across the 17 municipal corporations (including nine new ones) and 149 municipalities — 60 in municipal corporations and 40 in municipalities — and imposed a penalty of nearly Rs 71 lakh. The notices also sought explanations regarding the deplorable condition of roads from engineering staff of the municipal corporations.

As of July 10 (a day after the Gambhira bridge collapse), data indicated that nearly 600 km of roads in the 17 municipal corporations across the state and around 625 km roads in municipalities had been damaged. Of these, 500 km and 420 km roads were repaired in municipal corporations and municipalities, respectively, according to data. However, worse would follow. Data shows that in the next 12 days (till July 22), another nearly 180 km in municipal corporations and 100 km in municipalities got damaged.

During this period, the government also encouraged the residents to use a mobile app, GujMarg, to report potholes, breakdowns and other damages on public roads and bridges.

The data accessed by The Indian Express states that 17,735 potholes were reported in areas under the jurisdiction of municipal corporations and 3,745 in municipalities till July 22, of which around 1,400 km of roads in both municipal corporations and municipalities and 21,500 potholes have reportedly been fixed by the authorities so far.

Principal Secretary, Urban Development and Urban Housing Department, M Thennarasan told The Indian Express, “The repair work was the priority… it has been completed. Now, the focus is on replacing it (the immediate repair work) with a hot mix, which is more durable and long lasting”.

Contractors and crackdown

With the government issuing notices to over 100 contractors across all the municipal corporations and municipalities in the state, at 31, Vadodara topped the list with maximum notices followed by Surat at 10.

SURAT

In Surat, at least 10 contractors were issued notices and the penalty ranged between Rs 25,000 and Rs 7.5 lakh. According to the information, the contractors and contracting firms who found themselves at the receiving end included Sunil A Domadia, JM Shah, M A Patel, A K Patel, K K B Projects Private Limited, S Z Patel and Sons, Ambika Construction, Bhavani Construction, Shreeji Construction and Marutinandan. Surat Municipal Corporation saw the highest penalty amount collected, at nearly Rs 50.5 lakh from 10 contractors who were compelled to bear the cost of the roads repaired.

The pothole ridden 51-year-old Nandesari bridge over Mini River was closed for traffic by the authorities (Express/Bhupendra Rana)

RAJKOT

In Rajkot, two contractors were issued notices. The Rajkot Municipal Corporation, sources said, plans to penalise the contractors. “The three damaged roads with a total stretch of 850 metres were under the DLP (Defect Liability Period). A fine will be imposed on the two contractors who have worked on it,” Rajkot Municipal Commissioner Tushar Sumera told this paper. Pawan Construction and Classic Construction have also been directed to complete the entire road resurfacing work at their own expense.

BHAVNAGAR

The government called out Bhavnagar-based Om Construction after roads work, completed in January 2022, got damaged. As defects were found in the work within the DLP, the defective part was recarpeted at the expense of the contractor. According to officials, the construction company was already served notices by the Bhavnagar Municipal Corporation (BMC) in 2023 over quality issues and their bank guarantee was revoked. However, it was challenged in the Gujarat High Court where the court granted them an interim relief. Other contractors served notices by Bhavnagar Municipal Corporation are Shivdhara Enterprise, Madhuram Infrastructure and Hindustan Construction.

AHMEDABAD

As published in The Indian Express, the city reported over 8,500 potholes on its city roads in a month till July 9, a fourth of which were found in the West Zone and over 400 on its bridges. In the ongoing crackdown, Ajay Engineering Infrastructure Private Limited and the Project Management Consultant SGS India Private Limited have been issued notices with directions to pay the cost of contractor hired for demolition of Hatkeshwar bridge, which was declared unsafe in just over four years of its opening.

JUNAGADH

Junagadh Municipal Corporation, issued notices to three contractors, including Amber Builder for resurfacing of 500 sq meters on the damaged road, Shram Shraddha Construction for 4300 sq meters of damaged road and Sarjan Construction for 480 sq. meters of damaged road. The Sarjan Construction, as per the company’s website, has ongoing projects in Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation related to construction, fabrication, erection and rigid pavement work of six bus shelters (two bay regular) on Sola Bridge to Sardar Patel Ring Road (Science City Road) in Ahmedabad City, for which the work order has been received. Additionally, Junagadh civic body also served notice to PC Snehal Construction Private Ltd though not for road repairs, but to not dig new roads before the monsoon and to repair the roads already dug before the season.

Municipalities go easy

Among the municipalities, 40 contractors were issued notices, but none have been penalised yet. The highest notices were issued in Gandhinagar municipality, to 13 contractors, who also bore the cost of the road repair work.

Vadodara tops penalty list, notices issued to 31 contractors 

At 31, Vadodara saw the highest number of contractors being penalised for subpar work. “The highest number could be due to the reporting mechanism. Since the work was not as per satisfaction, these many contractors were issued notices and penalised,” says VMC commissioner Arun Mahesh Babu.

According to the Vadodara Municipal Corporation officials, seven contractors, who took up drainage projects of the VMC in recent months, were fined up to Rs 1 lakh. These include M/s JNP Infra, M/s DR Agarwal, M/s Hindustan Fabricators, M/s SK Makwana and Co., and M/s Bhavin Enterprises. These works were to include road carpeting, which was left incomplete. At least 10 contractors have been fined Rs 1 lakh and above for works of the VMC’s Water Department. While M/s Akar Construction has been fined Rs 1.5 lakh for seven such road patches in the city, M/s AK Make Infra has been fined Rs 1 lakh for leaving roads unfinished at five locations. This list also includes M/s Rajkamal Builders Infra Limited — one of the VMC’s biggest contractors — which also executed the marathon desilting and dredging project of the Vishwamitri River with a 100-day deadline for pre-monsoon flood mitigation programme.

The other contractors of the Water Department projects, who have been levied penalties under Rs 1 lakh, include M/s Dagli Associates, M/s Honest Engineers, M/s Nand Infra, Pavan Enterprises, M/s BD Sarothiiya, and M/s Elite Engineers. Seven other contractors have been fined by the VMC for shortcomings in the ongoing road projects.

Dharmik Dave, Head of Department and Executive Engineer (Water Works), in-charge Additional City Engineer (Drainage Project and Sewage works) and Executive Engineer (Road Project), said that none of the penalties issued were because of “washouts” or “breaking roads”. “Almost all the roads under repair are about 15 years old and way beyond the DLP. Most penalties initiated are in incidents of drainage and water network laying, where the contractor has not carpeted the road, as per the scope of work. We wanted a motorable surface, they made the base but did not carpet as they were aware that rains will lead to natural settlement. If we had carpeted it, it would have settled but would have developed cracks as experienced earlier. So this time, we reserved the carpeting for later…” Dave said.

Dave added, “Road contractors are aware that the laying of the storm water drain is in the scope of work… many have not done this work, but made the road motorable. There have been settlements and we have issued notice to them for ongoing work…” Dave added that although roads under DLP (of three years) are in perfect condition in the city, the VMC has identified nine roads that have underground drainage networks of over 40 years ago, leading to repeated cave-ins. “Since the drainage lines underneath are over four decades old and were created with now obsolete technologies and so they are repeatedly caving in… Under the government disaster fund, we have tendered a project to repair and replace these networks,” he said.

When The Indian Express tried to contact stakeholders at Shivam Construction Company and Rajkamal Builders, the firms refused to comment (Express/Bhupendra Rana)

When The Indian Express tried to contact stakeholders at Shivam Construction Company and Rajkamal Builders, the firms refused to comment. Another contractor, who has been fined under Rs 50,000, feels that the penalties are “harsh”.

The contractor said, “The decision to impose penalties on contractors without getting into the merits of the case is unfair and harsh… Contractors, who were asked to complete water and drainage projects just during the monsoon onset would have no other option but to leave the road without carpeting it as the settlement would mean that the VMC would face more flak and questions would be raised on the quality of work…”

Gambhira bridge collapse exposes a trail of neglect

The multi-axle tanker hangs precariously over the Mujpur-Gambhira bridge two weeks after a part of it collapsed into the Mahi river killing 21, mostly villagers who were on their way to work, few pilgrims and others.

In the days that followed the mishap, over 2,000 bridges across the state were inspected and 133 bridges were closed for safety concerns while 30 bridges were closed for urgent repairs. In Vadodara city, the closure of a 51-year-old Nandesari bridge over Mini River as well as the Ranoli Railway Over Bridge on the outskirts of the city left residents concerned about commuting to their workplace. Days after the Vadodara city police notification diverting traffic to Ranoli overbridge, the latter was also closed.

Over 2,000 bridges were inspected after a part of Mujpur-Gambhira collapsed

Even 17 days after the Gambhira bridge collapse, the administration has been unable to retrieve the slab of the bridge that fell into the river, taking along with it at least two trucks, a private car, two pick up vans and three motorcycles. The authorities are also yet to remove a tanker truck that has been precariously positioned on the broken bridge, on the side of Anand district. In Narmada district, the closure of six strategic bridges, including Movi and Netrang have meant that going to talukas of Dediapada and Sagbara has become longer by over 100 km by a private vehicle as state transport buses are plying only up to the points where the bridges are closed.

State of affairs

There are a total of 355 bridges across 17 municipal corporations in Gujarat. Government data reveals that out of these, 39 bridges have been identified as “dilapidated”. Of these, 35 have been categorised as under “low severity”, one under “medium severity”, and three under “high severity”. Among the “high severity”, one bridge — Sandhiya Bridge — falls under Rajkot Municipal Corporation (RMC) and two — Kamatibaug and the old Jambuva River Bridge — under Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC).

“The reconstruction of Kamatibaug has been approved by the standing committee while new designs are underway for the Jambuva Bridge,” Vadodara Municipal Commissioner Arun Mahesh Babu said. While RMC demolished Sandhiya Bridge in June 2024 and commenced the construction of a new bridge, expected to be completed by September 2026, VMC has closed both bridges. “Under the state government’s SOP following the bridge collapse incident (Morbi), inspection of bridges was carried out every three months in Rajkot. For Sandhiya Bridge, more than the reconstruction planning, the diversion route was the biggest challenge since it connects to Jamnagar. It took us two months to do the same. At present, 60 % bridge work is complete and we are aiming to finish it before the deadline,” Rajkot Municipal commissioner Tushar Sumera shared with The Indian Express.

In Surat, 22 bridges are under repair, which is the highest in any city. Surat Municipal Commissioner Shalini Agarwal said, “It is because of the bridge rehabilitation scheme, which was launched in Surat around two-and-a-half years back. With the highest number of bridges in Surat at 121, a detailed survey was done last year. Based on the survey, bridges were categorised under A to D category, with A requiring no repair to D in dilapidated state.”As per the officials, 80 bridges fall under A category, 15 under minor repair work (B category), 26 under major repair work (C category) and none under D category which requires immediate demolition.

The AMC has completed the detailed inspection of all three dilapidated bridges, including Parikshit Lal, Sardar and Gandhi bridge. “Based on the observations, minor repair works and bearing replacements are currently in progress and are expected to be completed at the earliest,” Ahmedabad Municipal Commissioner Banchhanidhi Pani said.

Meanwhile, Jamnagar Municipal Corporation has initiated the reconstruction process for the dilapidated bridges and has restricted movement of heavy motor vehicles on the Kalavad Naka Bridge and near Annapurna Circle Bridge. Junagadh Municipal Corporation has appointed a technical consultant to carry out detailed inspection of the dilapidated bridges. Navsari Municipal Corporation has completed detailed inspection of both its dilapidated bridges and has restricted heavy motor vehicle traffic.