Hindustan Times 10.08.2010
BMC will use your Rs 60 crore to fix potholes temporarilyThe municipal corporation will spend Rs 60 crore of the taxpayer’s money to undertake a temporary pothole-filling exercise. These same roads will be re-done in asphalt after the monsoon. The city has total 1,950 km of roads of which about 500 km is cement concretised. About 200 km of road falls under the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority, Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation and Public Works Department jurisdictions and about 300 km of road is under guarantee period, which has to repair by the contractors at their own cost.
The Rs 60 crore will be used to fix the remaining 1,000 km of road under the corporation’s jurisdiction.
“We will fill up the potholes on a temporary basis and then resurface the road after monsoon,” said Aseem Gupta, additional municipal commissioner.
The corporation has also decided to keep a quality check on material used for pothole repairs so that they do not reappear. The corporation will post engineers at the seven asphalt plants to keep a check on the material.
They will also keep tabs on roads that are under the defect liability period and nail the contractors.
“Ward officers have been instructed to make a list of contractors and the roads that fall under defect liability period, so that the road can be repaired. The report will be compiled in the next 15 days,” said Gupta.
