Despite the government undertaking repair works of roads damaged by heavy rain after the orders of Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, their condition continued to be poor in the rural and urban areas, said Bharat Patel, BJP MLA from Valsad Wednesday while raising a question in the Gujarat Assembly. In response to Bharat’s question if any budget was being set aside for the repair of roads, Minister of State for Road and Building, Jagdish Panchal said the government has allotted Rs 455 crore for the same. Admitting that roads have been damaged due to heavy rain, Panchal noted that Navsari and Valsad have witnessed 127.55 per cent and 138.77 per cent rain respectively. He added that the CM has said that the government is quite eager to complete any road-related work that is brought to its attention. The minister said that the state government has kept a condition in tenders for building roads that if it breaks within four years, it is the contractor's responsibility to repair the same. He added that the government is also taking action against concerned contractors and officials in case of default. One consultant has been blacklisted and actions have been taken against many officials, Panchal said. Panchal said Gujarat is number one state in the country in terms of export and that a huge number of trucks with heavy load use the roads in the state.
