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Journalism of Courage
Ramesh Khurana, leading road contractor
8220;Something faulty appears as a manifestation of corruption and sickness in the system. When tenders are invited by the Pune Municipal Corporation for construction of roads, the contractor who quotes the lowest tender is granted the work. Obviously, the cheapest cannot be the best. The quality of material and work naturally becomes sub-standard. Bitumen, a component of the material used for road work does not agree with water. After the rains, therefore, the water seeps below the surface. Furthermore, when roads are built the middle portion needs to be a little higher so water can drain off. Unfortunately, this is not done. So, during monsoons the water that seeps below the surface of the road continues to remain there causing further damage.
For the endurance of a good road, it has to be of the best quality 8212; can you imagine what would have happened to the Taj Mahal if it was built on this kind of contract basis ? About ten years ago, I had approached the PMC and proposed that the contractors be given their due rates. If then, the road quality was low then you could punish the contractor. Nothing came of it.
The controlling authority must be strict about supervision of work. Sadly, there is no feeling of belongingness about the city. The contractors usually prefer not to take on relatively smaller jobs like filling up potholes. The PMC should award due rates of contract and then make the contractor responsible for the maintenance of that stretch. If he fails to comply to this guideline then stringent action like black-listing should be taken.8221;
