BMC raps contractors,2,200 potholes to be filled again

Since June,19,890 potholes have been reported on the civic body’s tracking software.

According to Nikhil Desai,activist and resident of Matunga,contractors usually avoid repairing potholes or spending huge sums before Ganpati festival. “They reserve majority of pothole repair funds during Ganeshotsav to avoid complaints regarding breaking of idols. As a result,repair of potholes until July is carried out using minimal quantity of material,labour and resources.” This time,the BMC is to blame for the shoddy work as it insisted on cold mix,which seems to have failed as a technology,he added.

The civic administration had earlier threatened to blacklist contractors,but officials said this was difficult to implement. “We have decided to impose a hefty fine for delay in repair work. So far,no contractor has been blacklisted,” said Agarwal.

Data generated the BMC’s pothole tracking software shows that the civic body collected a whopping Rs 1.41 crore from contractors for delay in repair of potholes. While contractors working under the supervision of various BMC departments paid Rs 1.08 crore for failing to repair potholes within 48 hours,ward level contractors were fined Rs 33 lakh.

The data shows that the money spent on pothole repair saw a 200 per cent jump over the past five years while the rainfall during the same period increased by only 30 per cent. The amount spent on road repair has increased from Rs 19.07 crore during 2006-07 to Rs 65.38 crore in 2011-12. Moreover,the BMC has spent close to Rs 4,500 crore on paving new asphalt and concrete roads across the city in this period.