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Proposals worth Rs 223.6 crore stalled in a day by BMC committee
According to the tabled proposal, micro surfacing is a methodology under which the surface of the road is evened by using cement cold mix along with an aggregate of bitumen, water and filler.
At present, the civic body has taken up a Rs 17,700-crore road concretisation project and members of the standing committee stated that an inspection should be carried out at the site before the tender is cleared. (File Photo)
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) Wednesday stalled the clearances of three separate proposals amounting to Rs 223.6 crore, after the elected representatives flagged their contentious nature. Of the three, two were separate proposals of Rs 62.6 and 61 crore each which the civic road’s department had floated to carry out micro surfacing of the Western Express Highway (WEH) and Eastern Express Highway (EEH) in a bid to keep the roads pothole-free during monsoon.
According to the tabled proposal, micro surfacing is a methodology under which the surface of the road is evened by using cement cold mix along with an aggregate of bitumen, water and filler. This methodology is usually a preventive maintenance method, that allows resumption of vehicular movement within two hours.
At present, the civic body has taken up a Rs 17,700-crore road concretisation project and members of the standing committee stated that an inspection should be carried out at the site before the tender is cleared.
BJP corporator Tejinder Singh Tiwana said, “Despite the BMC spending more than Rs 200 crore only in pothole repair works during the past two years, new proposals for micro surfacing of roads have been floated. This raises the question of the quality of work done previously and all the roads contracts that were previously awarded should be investigated.”
“The civic road’s department will need to demonstrate to the committee members in a site inspection visit on why this methodology is important and whether it will be long lasting going forward. After that only, a decision would be taken on whether the proposal needs to be cleared or not,” Ganesh Khankar, leader of the Kouse in BMC said.
The civic committee also halted the clearance of another Rs 101 crore proposal that was floated for carrying out housekeeping work of the King Edward Memorial (KEM) hospital. The proposed tender will involve appointment of manpower for cleaning, and maintenance of the hospital premises along with other ancillary works.
The move came a day after BJP legislator Mihir Kotecha had written to Mumbai’s civic chief Ashwini Bhide demanding full cancellation of this tender. Meanwhile on Wednesday, the tender proposal was rejected unanimously.
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“In the tender proposal, the contractor has also specified the number of workers who will be working as housekeepers. He didn’t mention the cost of renting or leasing logistical supplies like uniform and machinery required. The tenderer also maintained that the tender is being floated as part of a social service, as a result no GST will charge on him. This is a very contentious proposal and therefore it needed to be stalled,” Ashraf Azmi — group leader of the Congress party said.
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