The Hindu 06.11.2013
GHMC to take control of city roads
Separate division to be carved out for the purpose
The GHMC will gain control of the city’s stretches from the Roads & Buildings (R&B) Department, thus putting the onus of road maintenance on itself.
The government would soon issue orders to this effect, GHMC Commissioner Somesh Kumar said on Tuesday, adding that a separate division would be carved out within the civic body for the purpose. At a review meeting, the Commissioner, along with GHMC Special Commissioner Navin Mittal, discussed the maintenance and prospects of taking up road repairs in a phased manner to achieve targets. He directed officials of various departments to come up with a holistic plan to develop a road length, addressing issues such as sanitation, debris removal, construction of table drains, camber correction, footpaths, patch works and greenery. They were also directed to prepare work proposals for holistic development of 40 kms of road in each circle in the next 10 days time. Mr. Somesh Kumar also said the GHMC was planning specific changes in road maintenance policy by calling tenders for lump sum contract of annual maintenance of roads after completion of defect liability period of the contractor.
Plea for crash team
The GHMC sought the help of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) to set up a crash team to attend to emergency works such as sinking of roads, dug-up roads and patch works. Mr. Somesh Kumar requested NDMA Vice-Chairman M. Shashidhar Reddy for technical support to further strengthen the early warning system. GHMC is also planning to create an emergency room to ferret out information and details on weather conditions. Mr. Reddy asked Mr. Somesh Kumar to depute one Additional Commissioner to look after the disaster management services.
Once govt. orders are issued, the onus on maintenance will now rest with the GHMC and not the R&B Dept.
