The Times of India 22.02.2013
Projects for drains, toilets choked
CHENNAI: Two of the Chennai Corporation's biggest projects - storm water drains and public toilets
- continue to be delayed, forcing officials to approach the council for
an extension of deadlines or permission to re-tender contracts.
A corporation council will pass a resolution on Friday giving a private contractor, who was to complete storm water drains leading into the Buckingham Canal by December 2012, time till June 30. The civic body says it has informed the committee at the Centre, under whose Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission the project was taken up, that it could not stick to the original deadline as
The resolution will blame the delay on the 2011 local body elections and monsoon.
The project to construct 844km of storm water drains was taken up at an estimated 814 crore in January 2009. But, the actual work began in September 2009 due to a delay in procuring a government order and in getting contractors. The deadline for most areas was December 2012. It was April 2013 for the rest. With reports suggesting that barely 60% of the work is complete, many are sceptical about the corporation being able to meet the new deadline. "It took them two years and three months to complete this much, I don't expect them to complete it in another four months," said an Adyar resident.
The other project, to set up compact, colorful public toilets on city roads, may remain on paper for a while. Corporation officials say the only bidder for one of the tenders is not likely to qualify and a re-tender could be floated. This was already the second time the tender to set up colored polycarbonate toilets was floated.
The civic body floated tenders for 2,000 pre-fabricated toilets, made of polycarbonate or polyethylene sheets, in December in three packages - two for 500 toilets each in North and South Chennai and the third for 1,000 toilets in Central Chennai. Only the package for Central Chennai attracted a bidder. The tender invited firms to build, operate and maintain the toilets for 20 years and earn revenues from advertising.
The corporation first floated tenders for 5,000 pre-fabricated toilets in August. and said companies should build the toilets and maintain it for ten years, during which they can earn their returns from advertising the outer space.
It did not receive a single bidder even by the end of September. The corporation is hesitant to pump in its money and take up the projects that don't get contractors.
"If they don't get bidders even twice, they should take up the projects themselves," said an advertising professional, whose firm had backed out of the bus shelter bid last year. Had things worked out, the toilets would have come up by January-end. "If contractors had come forward in August, work orders could have been issued in September. Setting up the toilets wouldn't have taken more than 3-4 months," said a former corporation official.
Other major projects by the Chennai Corporation that have been delayed are the mega city road project which was to be completed by September 2012 and the 1,024 new bus shelters that are yet to see the light of the day.
A corporation council will pass a resolution on Friday giving a private contractor, who was to complete storm water drains leading into the Buckingham Canal by December 2012, time till June 30. The civic body says it has informed the committee at the Centre, under whose Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission the project was taken up, that it could not stick to the original deadline as
The resolution will blame the delay on the 2011 local body elections and monsoon.
The project to construct 844km of storm water drains was taken up at an estimated 814 crore in January 2009. But, the actual work began in September 2009 due to a delay in procuring a government order and in getting contractors. The deadline for most areas was December 2012. It was April 2013 for the rest. With reports suggesting that barely 60% of the work is complete, many are sceptical about the corporation being able to meet the new deadline. "It took them two years and three months to complete this much, I don't expect them to complete it in another four months," said an Adyar resident.
The other project, to set up compact, colorful public toilets on city roads, may remain on paper for a while. Corporation officials say the only bidder for one of the tenders is not likely to qualify and a re-tender could be floated. This was already the second time the tender to set up colored polycarbonate toilets was floated.
The civic body floated tenders for 2,000 pre-fabricated toilets, made of polycarbonate or polyethylene sheets, in December in three packages - two for 500 toilets each in North and South Chennai and the third for 1,000 toilets in Central Chennai. Only the package for Central Chennai attracted a bidder. The tender invited firms to build, operate and maintain the toilets for 20 years and earn revenues from advertising.
The corporation first floated tenders for 5,000 pre-fabricated toilets in August. and said companies should build the toilets and maintain it for ten years, during which they can earn their returns from advertising the outer space.
It did not receive a single bidder even by the end of September. The corporation is hesitant to pump in its money and take up the projects that don't get contractors.
"If they don't get bidders even twice, they should take up the projects themselves," said an advertising professional, whose firm had backed out of the bus shelter bid last year. Had things worked out, the toilets would have come up by January-end. "If contractors had come forward in August, work orders could have been issued in September. Setting up the toilets wouldn't have taken more than 3-4 months," said a former corporation official.
Other major projects by the Chennai Corporation that have been delayed are the mega city road project which was to be completed by September 2012 and the 1,024 new bus shelters that are yet to see the light of the day.
