RMC facing fund crunch, work on Rajkot road with potholes drags on for 10 months

The engineers of the civic body say they need Rs 2.75 crore more for repairing the road and that the RMC will approach the state government for the same. However, mayor Pradip Dav says no damages might be forthcoming from the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI). “While it is a fact that the heavy vehicles diverted from NH-27 damaged the road, I do not think we can seek any damages from NHAI nor are we seeking any,” Dav said.

On March 2, the standing committee cleared a proposal for revising the project cost to Rs 6.25 crore. Now, the RMC has prepared a proposal to seek Rs 2.75 crore from the state government under the Swarna Jayanti Mukhya Mantri Shehri Vikas Yojana (SJMMSVY) to complete the repairing and resurfacing of 900 metres.

On April 12, hundreds of Kothariya residents confronted Dav and MLAs — Ramesh Tilala and Darshita Shah — when they arrived for a health-screen camp on Rolex Ring Road about the issue. “It is true that this is the main road for the growing population of Kotharia area. This road also connects Rajkot with Kotda Sangani taluka. But we got as much work done as was possible from the grant we had received,” the Mayor told The Indian Express, adding, “The work has been affected due to the rise in price of bitumen also. Therefore, we are seeking additional funds from the state government for this work.”

On April 14, Classic Network Private Limited (CNPL), a city-based private firm contracted by the RMC in June last year, resumed the work of resurfacing Kothariya Road. But the work was halted on April 17. By then, the contractor had completed resurfacing 2.4 kms of the total 3.3-km stretch between HUDCO Chowkadi and Kothariya village. The work halting for the second time means the remaining 900 metres stretch near Kothariya remains in shambles.
RMC had issued a work order to CNPL on June 14, 2022 for resurfacing the road at a cost of Rs 5.11 crore. The civic body had estimated the project cost at Rs 6.25 crore. However, CNPL quoted 18 per cent lower for completing the work and thus, won the contract. RMC had given the private firm 10 months to resurface the road through dense bitumen macadam (DBM) (containing four per cent bitumen) and then seal it with bitumen concreting (containing 5.4 percent bitumen).

However, 10 months on, the work drags on even as RMC officers blame damage caused due to heavy vehicles and bitumen costs soaring from Rs 32,000 to Rs 58,000 per tonne in a short period. The civic officials say the movement of heavy vehicles damaged the subgrade of the road, effectively, increasing the cost of restoring the road that was originally dug up for laying utilities.

Smit Kaneria of CNPL claimed there was no delay on their part in completing the work. “We completed the work that we had been assigned by the RMC,” he said. RMC had to pay Rs 1.16 crore to CNPL as adjustment for the rise in the price of bitumen.

The heavy vehicles continued to ply on the section of Kothariya Road throughout monsoon and stopped only when Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel inaugurated the elevated corridor at Gondal Chowkadi on February 4.

RMC does not allow any road works during the rainy season from June 15 to September 14. On October 14, 2022, the Mayor laid the foundation stone of the project in the presence of Shah, who was then the deputy mayor. The actual road resurfacing work started only in the last week of November, prior to the Assembly election. But it halted after completing resurfacing of only 1.2 km. The work remained suspended for the next four months.