Fed up with constant road damages due to rains, water leakages and sewerage overflows that causing untold hardships to motorists, the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) has decided to hand over the maintenance of certain stretches of roads to private agencies on an experimental basis.

Initially, the corporation has proposed to handover the maintenance of small patches and potholes to the agencies on annual contract basis. Such a system is yielding positive results in South Delhi where private agencies take care of road maintenance.

GHMC is in the process of identifying such stretches which need constant patch repair works and pothole fillings. In the next few days, tenders for the same will be floated.  While GHMC will provide BT and other materials required for filling potholes and doing patch-work, the agencies will have to constantly monitor the area and visit it  once a week. If they find frayed patches or potholes, they will be required to fill up the patches.

If the damaged stretch is big, the maintenance and recarpeting will be taken care by the corporation, GHMC officials told Express. GHMC commissioner Somesh Kumar during the weekly Prajavani programme said that the proposed plan will provide more clarity while taking up road repairing works under the GHMC limits.

“GHMC is planning to come with a proposal of annual maintenance contracts on some of the roads as a pilot project for taking up recarpeting works. The contractor will be made responsible to take up the road repairing works for the entire year,” the commissioner said.  

Somesh Kumar asked all the deputy commissioners and zonal commissioners to give details of the most damaged roads in next two or three days. He said that all road repair works would be completed by December end.