‘BMC’s objective is not only about concretising the roads of Mumbai, but to do so without inconveniencing citizens’: additional municipal commissioner

At present, the work is going on at full pace and we have decided that the concreting of roads will be completed by May 20. The process of concreting involves laying three layers–the first layer is the Granular Sub Base (GSB), which is followed by the Dry Lean Concrete (DLC) layer and third is the Pavement Quality Concrete (PQC) which is the top layer. Therefore, our objective is that by May 20 all the roads that have been completed till PQC stage will be evened and surfaced and the roads which haven’t come to this level will be completed by using mastic-asphalt coating to ensure they are fully ready for vehicle movement by the time monsoon arrives.

Q: The objective of concreting roads is to get rid of mastic-asphalt roads that are prone to potholes, but here the balance roads that will not be concretised by May 31 will be repaired using mastic-asphalt only. How is it going to be effective in the long run?

The surfacing of roads by using mastic-asphalt shouldn’t be seen as a patchwork. The quality of asphalt that will be used will have the highest of standards and there will be no compromise on it. These roads will be later concretised after the monsoon without any additional cost paid to the contractor. Also, during the monsoon period, the job of maintaining these stretches will be on the contractor as well. The only reason why we will be using asphalt on these unfinished roads is as a temporary measure to ensure that they remain fully operational for traffic during the monsoon. Instead of stopping concreting work on May 20, if we continue it for 10 more days till May 31, then our overall progress of completion will still be very high because the speed at which we are doing the per-day work is at the peak. But the work of concreting will be stopped on May 20, purposefully. That’s because even after finishing the concreting work, the roads are needed to be kept in as-is condition for curing the laid concrete before it could be opened for vehicle movement. The process of curing takes at least 14 days. Therefore, if we carry out concreting works till May 31 and by chance rainfall arrives by the first week of June, then it will undo all the work that has been done.

Q: Has there been any recent roadblocks due to which the administration is unable to concretise all the roads by May 31 that were dug up initially?

In the last two-three months after we (BMC) began digging the roads at a faster pace, many citizens faced inconvenience and raised the issue with us. Our objective is not only about concretising the roads, but also to do the job by causing minimum or no inconvenience to citizens. Therefore, we had prioritised the completion of the task in a way to make sure the citizens are not inconvenienced. It’s true that the stretch of completion of the concretised portion would be lesser this way, but again, this was also a strategic decision because what’s the point of achieving high numbers even if it causes so much inconvenience to people, when the overall project is for citizen’s convenience only.

Q: Did the unseasonal rainfall of last week create any disruption to the roadworks?

The unseasonal rains caused a minimum hindrance as the civil works were stopped entirely for two days. Every day, we use 3,000 cubic metres of concrete and on the days there were rains, progress of work remained zero as cement concrete ratio gets affected due to rain. However, this is not something to be concerned about since we will be able to make it up within our deadline.

Q: Mumbai’s water stock fell below 25% last week. Are we looking at any water cut in the days to come?

Going by the current data that we have with us, it is safe to say that there will be no water cut since the stock is adequate. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted an early monsoon and due to the unseasonal rains, the maximum temperature has also fallen, which will lead to slower pace of evaporation. The state government has also given us (BMC) an additional access of water stock. Therefore, going by the current scenario, we are saying that there will be no water cut.

Q: At present, the BMC is also carrying out desilting of the drains and rivers as part of pre-monsoon preparedness. How is it going?

Desilting is going on as per desired pace and we aim to complete our pre-monsoon target within the deadline. While the overall progress looks good, when we take a microscopic look at the ward levels, there are multiple scopes of improvement for us. In some municipal wards, the work is not happening at the desired speed. Therefore, we have told the officials to ramp up their manpower. We have also set up a war room to monitor the progress round-the-clock.

Q: What are the challenges for desilting this year?

Floating waste is the classic challenge when it comes to desilting and it is relevant till this day. Last week, during the unseasonal rains, pockets in Saki Naka (Andheri East) got waterlogged and the evidence point to floating waste only. The plastics that get dumped into the nullahs create choke points. As a result, water cannot pass through the drains and whenever there is heavy rain, these drains and nullahs overflow causing waterlogging. By pointing out this issue, I am not bypassing the fact that desilting is being done flawlessly but I want to highlight that the floating wastes are more responsible for flooding than anything else and waste in the drains are being dumped by people. Therefore, it’s unfair to blame the BMC on this always.