Despite being hit by the biggest-ever road scam in 2015, it once again hands over responsibility of checking road works to private agencies
The work will be given on a roster basis or as per the directions of the chief of the roads department. Pepresentation pic/Atul Kamble
The civic body has appointed private agencies to monitor the quality of the roads that will be constructed after the expenditure of Rs 2,500 crore. This despite the massive scam of 2015, when hundreds of roads worth Rs 2,052 crore were found to be shabby, following which many BMC officials were sacked.
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The BMC had hired project management agencies between 2013 and 2015 to keep a check on the works. It put an end to the practice after the road scam, considered to be the biggest ever, unearthed, and asked its own engineers to inspect the construction work. However, faced with the issue of limited staff, it has appointed agencies once again, said civic officials.
The civic corporation has awarded contracts for the construction of 600 roads, most of them to be cement concrete. It invited tenders for road works in March 2021 and received quotes 30 per cent below the estimated value, which raised concerns about the quality. The BMC scrapped the process and re-invited tenders in September 2021. Between December 2021 and March 2022 the standing committee approved road works worth Rs 2,500 crore and almost all of them were quoted 15 to 20 per cent below the estimated cost.
The eight quality management institutes that have been appointed by the BMC are M/s Construma, M/s Famestructi, M/s Techogem, M/s Shrikhande, M/s Tondon, M/s Mahimtura, M/s Raje and M/s TPF. The BMC wants them to monitor the work that will take at least next three years.
The work will be given on a roster basis or as per the chief of the roads department. The agencies will get 2 per cent of the total work amount for the particular road.
BMC officials said these agencies would mainly check if each layer of the road work site is in accordance with the standards laid down in the tender. They will also be supervising the RMC (Ready Mix Concrete) plant to ensure the concrete being supplied for the construction work is of proper quality.
“The city has about 2,000 km of roads, and concreting of about 1,000 km of them has been completed. This year, the BMC has undertaken the work of concreting about 200 km of roads,” said an official.
He added that the reconstruction of the roads is carried out under the supervision of engineers from the roads department. However, the officers and engineers have many administrative tasks on their hands. Hence, agencies have been appointed for the monitoring of road works.
“Appointing agencies to monitor the road works is a good step and will ensure the quality of roads. But that doesn’t mean the BMC can shrug off its responsibility. The BMC has to ensure that the agencies do their work properly and without any pressure,” said Anil Galgali, an activist.
“The BMC engineers will be mainly supervising the day-to-day progress. At critical stages, the agencies will check the work independently. Since 20 per cent of the amount of road construction work is withheld and will be released over 10 years, at 2 per cent each year after the quality test, the quality is expected to be maintained by agencies as well as the agencies,” said P Velarasu, additional municipal commissioner.
The 2015 road scam
In 2015, the then mayor Snehal Ambekar wrote to the then BMC commissioner Ajoy Mehta indicating a scam in road repair work, leading to an enquiry, which revealed the involvement of civic officials and contractors.
The examination of 34 roads, worth Rs 352 crore, found the work was shabby.
The enquiry was extended to 200 more roads worth Rs 1,700 crore. It concluded that the construction and repair work were substandard.
Police took action against the contractors and third-party auditors.
In its internal probe carried out over two years, the BMC found 169 civic officials guilty and charged most of them for lack of supervision or for failing to conduct their duty efficiently. It sacked six engineers. The BMC softened its stand and reduced the tainted contractors’ blacklisting term to three years from seven in 2019.
The BMC wasn’t keen to take action against its own officials back then, said Anil Galagali.
“I complained to the Lokayukta about the BMC’s reluctance to take action against its own people. I requested it to ensure that disciplinary action was taken against them,” he added.
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