Mumbai: Collapsed Bihar bridge contractor is building GMLR

SP SINGLA Constructions is currently building three bridges as part of Goregaon-Mulund Link Road; senior BMC official says Mumbai will not see Bihar-like mishap under their watch

SP Singla Constructions, which was constructing the now-collapsed bridge in Bihar, is currently building three bridges as part of the Goregaon-Mulund Link Road (GMLR). While a Congress leader has demanded the contractor’s removal, the BMC is confident that there won’t be any error because civic officials are constantly monitoring the work. SP Singla Construction Pvt. Ltd. was, on December 20, 2021, awarded a contract of R666.06 crore to build the flyovers.

SP Singla Constructions Pvt. Ltd., which was awarded the contract on December 20, 2021, is building a six-tier flyover at Ratnagiri Hotel chowk in Goregaon, circular elevated way at Khindipada in Mulund and another six-tier flyover at Hedgewar chowk in Mulund, according to officials.

Congress leader Ravi Raja, the former corporator and former leader of opposition in the BMC, has sent a letter to civic commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal, seeking to halt the work by the contractor.

An under-construction bridge collapsed, in Bihar’s Bhagalpur district, on Sunday. Pic/PTI

Firm has bad reputation

In his letter, Raja mentioned, “The same company was constructing the bridge over the river Ganga in Bhagalpur district of Bihar which collapsed on Sunday. The bridge collapsed due to a design and technical error. Even earlier, the bridge had collapsed while under construction. It has been found that the construction of the company is of very poor quality.”

As per the contract, the firm is also responsible for maintenance of the three GMLR bridges for five years after completion. Representation pic

Stating that the contractor has already started the work on GMLR bridges, Raja cautioned that the Bihar incident could repeat. “Therefore, the municipal corporation should not give any work to this company and the work should be reviewed,” he said, while demanding that the firm be blacklisted.

‘BMC is watching’

BMC Additional Commissioner P Velrasu, however, said, “Both [Bihar and GMLR] works cannot be compared, as they are technically different. The GMLR work is being monitored by the BMC’s Bridges Department as well as a third party, PMC Technogem. I have also instructed the Bridges Department’s chief engineer to review the work this week again.”

According to the contract, SP Singla is also responsible for maintenance of the bridges for five years after completion. The contract also included reconstruction of a two-lane subway at Tansa pipeline.

The company is also involved in the work of structuring and construction of a 592-metre-long permanent cable-stayed bridge at Basohli on river Ravi in Jammu and Kashmir.

2021
Year the contract was awarded to the firm

Rs 666cr
Cost of the contract given for GMLR bridges

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