Additional Municipal Commissioner Abhijit Bangar tells mid-day how BMC is ensuring road surfaces stay intact, why excavation is unavoidable
Additional Municipal Commissioner Abhijit Bangar (arms crossed) oversees road concreting work in Chembur. Pic/BMC
In light of reports about cracks developing in newly concreted roads, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has decided to compile data on batches of concrete that failed the slump test, which is used to determine the consistency and workability of fresh concrete before it hardens, by measuring how much the concrete settles after being poured into a cone and then lifted. Meanwhile, on Friday, Additional Municipal Commissioner Abhijit Bangar conducted a raid at a site near Chembur and found discrepancies in the quality of its concrete. The day before, he nixed several batches of ready-mix concrete (RMC) that were to be used at Mankhurd and Chembur. In a conversation with mid-day, Bangar spoke about the civic body’s “zero-tolerance policy” towards irregularities in projects, among other things.
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Excerpts from the interview…
You have acted on mid-day’s reports about roads developing cracks. Is the issue a widespread one?
We will not accept any compromise in quality. Whenever we find cracks on the road, we take strict action. Our team has asked for all the records related to slump tests conducted at RMC [ready-mix concrete] plants and on project sites. Minor variation is acceptable, but if a major lapse is discovered, it is not. We are very strict. After getting the report, we will analyse it and take appropriate action.
But why was immediate action not taken?
See, there are two possibilities. If concrete is as per the standard at the RMS plant but the mixers reach the site late at the site due to traffic, there is the possibility that certain values can change. This delay can be understood. But if we learn that a concrete load had failed the slump test at an RMC plant without any technical reason, we will take strict action. We are looking into all of this.
Why is a slump test necessary?
Using this test, we find the ratio of water within a concrete sample. If this ratio is not as per the standard, it could result in cracks on roads. If we find such cracks, we ask the contractor to redo the work and also impose heavy fines. We cannot allow the quality of the work to be compromised. We are also taking help from experts from the Indian Institute of Technology.
There are several instances where newly concreted roads have been dug again...
This is a megacity issue. We don’t have places where huge water pipelines can be laid underground. We are shifting some pipelines to the side of the road and replacing old ones. But we can’t move all of them in this manner as it would drastically increase costs. So, we have decided to shift old pipelines to one side of the road. Recently one video of Western suburbs went viral. I sought information about that. In that case, digging was unavoidable as we needed to repair the underground water line.
Does that mean that road excavations won’t stop anytime soon?
Sometimes, excavation is unavoidable. But, it won’t happen frequently and everywhere. This is a megacity issue. We don’t have enough space.
But doesn’t excavation cause the defect liability period (DLP) of a particular road to expire?
That DLP will lapse for only for those patches of a road that are dug up. After repairs, the patch will come under a new DLP. Also, If the repairs are done properly, the road will be issue-free. We are taking care of this.
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